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The Ambassador of Christ. 



BY 

JAMES CARDINAL 

Archbishop of Baltimore. 

AUTHOR OF "THE FAITH OF OUR FATHERS" and "OUR CHRISTIAN HERITAGE.' 



For Christ we are ambassadors, 
God as it were exhorting by us." 

//. Cor. v. 20. 



( uttie ^»o 

JOHN MURPHY & ^S^^^J^^^ 1 ^* 

Baltimore : PUBLISHERS, Xev; Yqrk . 

No. 44 W. Baltimore St. _ No. 70 Fifth Avenue. 

London : 

R. Washbourne, 18 Paternoster Row. 
1 896. 



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Copyright, 1896, by James Cardinal, Gibbons. 
All Rights Reserved. 



• „ * 



RESPECTFUL L Y D ED TCA TED 

TO THE 

IDenerable prelates an*> Clergy 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES. 



\ 



PREFACE 



A PIOUS, learned, and zealous priesthood is the glory 
of the Church of God. By our personal holiness, 
we work out our own salvation, and edify our neighbors ; 
by our erudition, we enlighten them ; and by our zeal, we 
make them partakers of the precious heritage of Christ. 

I do not think that any age or country ever presented a 
more inviting field for missionary labor than that which the 
United States exhibits to-day. 

" The word of God is not bound," or shackled here, as it 
has been elsewhere. No military satrap or State func- 
tionary is permitted to enter our churches in the capacity 
of an official censor, to arrest, fine, or imprison a minister of 
the Gospel for his conscientious utterances in vindication of 
social morals, and in denunciation of official corruption. 

The Catholic pastor is sure to be heard with reverence, 
sympathy, and adhesion by the members of his flock; and 
many even of those that are not of the household of the 
faith, will often be attentive and respectful listeners, especi- 
ally on extraordinary occasions. 

The periodical whirlwinds of bigotry that sweep over the 
land soon subside, like the upheavals of nature, after spend- 
ing their force. Nor are they an unmixed evil ; they serve 
some useful purpose. They purify the moral atmosphere; 
they clear the spiritual skies, and give observant men a 
better insight into the uncreated world. They are winnow- 
ing winds separating the wheat from the chaff. They are 

v 



VI PREFACE. 

storms that try men's souls. They help to render the 
members of the Church more loyal to their religion, and 
they awaken in serious and honest minds outside her pale 
salutary reflections, often resulting in their conversion. 

Indeed, it has frequently been observed that periods of 
violent hostility to our religion have been, also, seasons of 
notable accessions to the Church, of which there are some 
shining examples around us. Institutions, as well as men, 
that have stood unmoved amid the raging billows, have 
always commanded the admiration and homage of man- 
kind. 

It may also be observed that rabid bigotry is not a plant 
that flourishes on Columbian soil. Those ebullitions of 
unreasoning hatred toward the Catholic Chuch, are not 
congenial to the American character. They are generally 
aroused and fomented by aliens as yet ill-acquainted with our 
Constitution, which guarantees to all freedom of conscience, 
who bring with them, and who would fain perpetuate, the 
intolerant spirit unhappily prevailing in the countries from 
which they came. 

Besides these spasmodic outbursts of religious fanaticism, 
we are confronted, also, by the steady and unceasing tide of 
opposition on the part of a considerable number of our 
fellow-citizens who, without any malice or ill-will toward 
us, sincerely regard with dislike or suspicion the religion 
that we profess. Their animosity is no evidence of their 
hostility to Catholic doctrines, but rather to what they 
erroneously conceive to be such. They are the unconscious 
heirs of traditional prejudice, which is not easily eradicated. 

This unfriendly attitude, however, should not discourage 
us. An earnest antagonism, prompted by honest, though 
misguided, zeal in the cause of Christianity, is far prefer- 
able to a spirit of apathy which springs from religious 
indifference. 



PREFACE. Vll 

There is more hope for the sick man who winces under ihe 
application of the lancet than for a patient who is insensible 
to the surgeon's scalpel. The former shows signs of vitality ; 
the latter excites fears of approaching dissolution. 

Of the thousands of Americans that annually embrace 
the religion of Christ, the most exemplary and conspicuous 
are often found among those that had been, at one time, the 
most pronounced opponents of the ancient faith. The most 
formidable zealot of the primitive Church afterward became 
the great Apostle of the Gentiles. 

Americans are fundamentally a religious people. They 
who characterize them as a nation so absorbed in trade and 
commerce, in agriculture and politics, as to give scarcely a 
thought to eternal truths, judge them not correctly. 

A people having little regard for Christianity, would not 
spend millions annually in the erection of churches, and in 
the maintenance of home and foreign missions, as Americans 
are known to do. 

Within twenty years after the Civil War, twenty-two 
millions of dollars were contributed by Northern Protestants 
for endowments of educational institutions in behalf of the 
negroes of the South, all these institutions being strictly 
religious. In 1895, the Presbyterians spent $927,000 for 
American Home Missions, besides vast sums for Foreign 
Missions. 

According to a statement apparently authorized, the five 
leading denominations in the United States, contribute annu- 
ally $88,000,000 for the support of their respective churches 
and missions. 1 And these contributions are not exacted as a 
compulsory tax, but are bestowed as voluntary offerings. 

The American people possess, also, in a marked degree, 
the natural virtues that are the indispensable basis of 
supernatural life. They are gifted with a high order of 

l H. K, Carroll, in The Forum, May, 1896. 



Vlll PREFACE. 

intelligence ; they are self-poised and deliberate ; they are of 
industrious and temperate habits; they are frank, inanly, 
and ingenuous. They have a deep sense of justice and fair 
play ; they are brave and generous ; and they usually have 
the courage of their convictions. 

They are, withal, a law-abiding people. At the close of 
the Civil War, when hundreds of thousands of Federal and 
Confederate troops were disbanded, they laid down their 
arms, and quietly resumed the civic pursuits of life, sub- 
mitting without constraint to the constitutional laws of the 
country. They eloquently disproved the ominous predic- 
tions uttered abroad that a soldiery suddenly released from 
the restraints of military discipline, would be a standing 
menace to the peace and industry of the country by their 
acts of violence and sedition ; and that, after having once 
acquired a taste for blood, they would still thirst for 
more. 

During a Presidential campaign, we find both great parties 
fiercely striving for the mastery. A stranger observing the 
passions and animosities that are aroused, the vehement 
denunciations poured out by the contending forces, and the 
dire disasters predicted by each side should the other 
triumph, would imagine that we were on the eve of a bloody 
revolution. But he would soon discover that the conflict 
did not occasion the loss of a single life. It was a bloodless 
revolution, effected not by bullets, but by ballots. 

Each side spends colossal fortunes, and impresses into its 
service the best talent of the nation in the hope of securing 
the coveted prize. 

The highest office in the gift of the people, the enormous 
patronage attached to it, the exultation of victory, the glory 
of presiding over the destinies of the country, are all 
involved in the issue. And yet on the morning after the 
election, the defeated party bows to the will of the majority. 



PREFACE. IX 

A people that yield so ready and loyal obedience to 
human laws, will not set their face against divine revela- 
tion when its imperious claims are clearly and cogently set 
before them. 

if those " olive branches " that were rudely broken 
from the parent stem by the destructive tornado which 
swept over Northern Europe in the sixteenth century, were 
" ingrafted and made partaker of the root and of the fatness 
of the olive-tree" 1 of Catholic and Apostolic faith, they 
would grow into fair and majestic proportions, abounding 
in the fruit of Christian virtues such as few nations ever 
produced ! 

While the Catholic religion accommodates itself to every 
form of government, it has a special adaptability to our 
political system and to the genius of the American people. 

We are happily living under a government of constitu- 
tional freedom. Our citizens enjoy the largest measure of 
liberty that is compatible with law and order. They are 
justly impatient of arbitrary coercion, and chafe under any 
undue restraint that might be imposed on their personal 
independence. This individualism is, indeed, a healthy 
stimulus to legitimate activity and honorable emulation in 
the various walks of public and private life. 

But there are multitudes of others who give vent to the 
freedom in which they revel, by disseminating the most 
Utopian and impracticable schemes affecting the religious, 
political, social, and economic world. 

This centrifugal force should be counterbalanced by a cor- 
responding centripetal power, which is found in the religion 
of Christ. The Catholic Church is the great conservative 
element of society, as all reflecting men are ready to avow. 
The Mistress of truth, she pursues a middle course, avoiding 
the extremes of undue severity and excessive laxity. She 

1 Eom. xi. 



X PREFAOF. 

holds the balance of even-handed justice between the rights 
of capital and the claims of labor. She teaches that all 
antagonism between the employer and the employed is 
suicidal and abnormal, and that the same harmony should 
subsist between both as exists between the head and the 
members of the body. 

She is eminently the Church of the people. She exercises 
a wholesome influence on the masses. While always in sym- 
pathy with genuine progress, and the lawful aspirations of 
the toiling millions, she knows how to curb their excesses. 
She appeals to their enlightened self-interest and moral sense, 
and she endeavors to control them by religious sanctions. 

In fierce political and social convulsions, what voice is 
more potent than hers in assuaging the storm, and saying to 
the troubled waters : " Peace, be still ! " 

Our mission is twofold: 1. To the members of the Church; 
2. To the hosts that are outside her pale, " who are Israelites," 
glorying in the title of Christians: "who are our kinsmen 
according to the flesh," descended like us from the same 
family of nations, " to whom belongeth the adoption of sons 
and the glory, and the covenant/' 1 for God is their Father 
as well as ours, and Christ Jesus died for them as well as for 
us: who speak our language, and enjoy with us the heritage 
of the same constitutional freedom. 

Let our hearts go out to them ; let us yearn for them ; 
let us appeal to them and importune them till, by our 
untiring patience, force of argument, and gentle persuasion, 
we " compel " as many of them as we can, to enter " the one 
fold of the one Shepherd." 

This little volume, with all its imperfections, has cost the 
author much labor, expended amid many interruptions. 
The motive that impelled him to undertake the work, is 
his sincere affection for his devoted and venerable fellow- 

1 Rom. ix. 



PREFACE. XI 

laborers, the clergy of North America, and his desire to see 
the kingdom of Christ extending its spiritual empire far and 
wide throughout our beloved country. 

If the book will contribute in some small measure to 
inspire the noble band of learned and self-denying professors 
with fresh zeal in the execution of their sublime and arduous 
calling, so essential to the welfare of the Christian Common- 
wealth ; if it will quicken students with more reverence and 
gratitude for their teachers, and with more diligence in the 
pursuit of knowledge; if it will animate our clergy with 
renewed ardor in the cultivation of piety and science, and 
with increased earnestness in the work of the ministry, it will 
not have been written in vain. 



Feast of Alt, Saixts, 
1896. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter J. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

• IX. 

X. 

XL 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 



/ ^ 



XVI. 



XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX, 

XX. 

XXT. 



PAGE. 

Excellence of the Christian Priesthood, - - 1 
On a Divine Vocation to the Sacred Ministry, - 19 
The Marks of a Divine Vocation, 32 

The Duties of Preceptors toward their Scholars, 47 
The Duties of Scholars toward their Teachers. 

Gratitude, -------58 

Eeverence for Teachers, 63 

Obedience to Teachers; Observance of Kules, - (37 
Truth and Sincerity of Character, - - 80 

Self-Respect and Human Eespeet, - - 90 

Charity and Politeness, 99 

Hindrances to Charity, 1 07 

The Spirit of Poverty, 119 

Sacerdotal Chastity, ------ 131 

Humility, - - - - - - - - 144 

Humility Specially incumbent on Triests. — En- 
tirely Compatible with Magnanimity. — The 
Practice of Humility, - 

The Ambassador of Christ should he a Learned 
Man. — Silence and Solitude the Hancfmaids 

of Study, - - 

Personal Advantages and Blessings of a Studious 

Life, 

Persevering Labor, the Key to Knowledge, 
Discouragements in the Pursuit of Knowledge, - 

Study of the Scriptures, 

The Study of the Fathers. — Dogmatic and Moral 
Th eology . — Canon Law. —History. — Greek, 



154 



164 

177 
189 
207 
226 



Latin and English Classics, 



238 



Xlll 



XIV 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter. 

XXII. Study of Men and the Times, - 

XXIII. The Priest as the Herald of the Gospel, - 

XXIV. The Preparation of Sermons. — Extemporaneous 

Preaching, 

XXV. The Priest as a Catechist, 

XXVI. The Home and Sunday School, - 

XXVII. Parochial Schools, 

XXVIII. Instruction and Reception of Converts, 

XXIX. Congregational Singing, 

XXX. Sick Calls and Funerals, - 

XXXI. Consolations and Rewards of the Priest, 



PAGE. 

2J9 
267 

285 
300 
314 
322 
333 
349 
363 
379 



The Ambassador of Christ. 



CHAPTER I. 

Excellence of the Christian Priesthood. 

"TTOXOR is he worthy of whom the King (of 
J — L kings) hath a mind to honor." l God is never 
imposed upon by the din of popular praise. He estimates 
a man at his real worth. His verdict is the standard, 
the criterion of genuine excellence, and the patent of true 
nobility. He crowns merit only and the dignity which 
springs from virtue. 

We know in what honor and esteem God, in the Old 
Dispensation, held His prophets, who were the teachers 
and expounders of the Law, the vindicators of Jehovah's 
rights and dominion among the people, and the watchmen 
on the towers of Israel. " Let us praise men of renown," 
says the inspired writer, " and our fathers in their genera- 
tion, men endued with wisdom, showing forth in the 
prophets the dignity of prophets, and by the strength of 
wisdom imtructing the people in most holy words. All 
these have gained glory in their generations, and were 
praised in their days. Their bodies are buried in peace, 

1 Esther vi. 11. 



2 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

and their name liveth unto generation and generation. 
Let the people show forth their wisdom, and the Church 
declare their praise." 1 

The Almighty gave them prerogatives such as were 
not bestowed on earthly rulers and conquerors of nations. 
He lifted up the veil, and disclosed to them a clear vision 
of futurity. In response to their prayers, He suspended 
the laws of nature, and enabled them to work miracles. 
He proclaimed their persons sacred and inviolable, so 
that he who touched them, touched the apple of His eye. 
"Touch not," He said, "My anointed, and do no evil 
to My prophets." 2 Sometimes He inflicted summary 
chastisement on those that offered personal violence to 
His consecrated servants. King Jeroboam raises his arm 
to strike one of the prophets, and his hand instantly 
falls withered by his side. 

John the Baptist, the great preacher of the desert, 
stands on the confines of the Old and the New Law. 
He is the connecting link between the Synagogue and 
the Church. He is the morning star ushering in the 
Sun of Justice, and disappearing at His rising. He 
points out with his finger Him whom the prophets be- 
held in spirit at a distance: "Behold," he says, "the 
Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world." 
So precious is the Precursor in the sight of God, that 
he is sanctified before his birth ; he is called "the friend 
of the Bridegroom," and Christ pronounces his eulogy 
in these words : " Amen I say to you, there hath not 
risen among them that are born of women one greater 
than John the Baptist." 3 

1 Keel us. xuv. 1-15. "Matt xi. 11. 

■I. Par. xvi. 22. 



EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD. 3 

The Apostles, who announced the new law of grace, 
are the legitimate successors of the ancient priests and 
prophets in offering sacrifice, in proclaiming God's name, 
and in extending His kingdom among the nations of 
the earth. Christ manifests His predilection for them 
in the three most signal ways that a chief can honor 
and recompense his followers: He cherishes them by 
His personal friendship ; He exalts them by associating 
them with Himself in the final judgment of men; He 
rewards them with eternal beatitude in His heavenly 
kingdom. 

Now, the anointed preacher of the New Law inherits the 
office of the prophets and the Apostles; and, as he con- 
tinues their mission, he shares in the dignity and preroga- 
tives conferred on them so long as the integrity of his 
private life corresponds w T ith his sacred calling. 

I will even affirm, on the authority of St. Paul, that 
the priest is as much more exalted than were the prophets, 
as the New Covenant is more glorious than the Old. 
"God" says the Apostle, "hath made us fit ministers of 
the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the Spirit ; 
for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. Now if 
the ministration of death engraven with letters on stones 
was glorious, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit 
be more glorious ? For if the ministry of condemnation 
is glory, much more the ministry of justice aboundeth 
in glory ." x 

St. Leo the Great thus addressed the laity of his day : 
"Acknowledge thy dignity, O Christian, and having 
become partaker of the divine nature, do not return to 
your former vileness by degenerate conversation. Be 

UI. Cor. in. 6-9. 



4 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

rnindf ul of whose Head and of whose Body you are made 
a member. Remember that you were delivered from the 
power of darkness, and translated into the light and king- 
dom of God." If Christians are thus exhorted to recog- 
nize their spiritual dignity even as laymen, how much 
more profoundly should you be impressed with a sense 
of the exalted rank to which you have been raised as a 
minister of Christ? 

"What is man/' says the Psalmist, "that Thou art 
mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest 
him? Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, 
Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor ; and hast 
set him over the works of Thy hands." 1 But how much 
is this earthly dominion of man excelled by the spiritual 
power of the priest! May we not exclaim in joyous 
wonder : What is the priest, O Lord, that Thou art 
mindful of him, or Thy anointed minister that Thou 
visitest him! Thou hast invested him with preroga- 
tives not given to Thy angels. Thou hast made him the 
custodian and dispenser of Thy heavenly treasures. 

"Ye are no more strangers and foreigners," says St. 
Paul, " but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of 
the household of God, built upon the foundation of the 
Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the 
chief corner-stone." 2 If it is a great distinction to be 
a private citizen of the Christian Republic, how much 
greater to be one of its magistrates? If it is a mark 
of divine predilection to be a member of God's house- 
hold, how much more to be one of His chamberlains? 
If it is a privilege to be a living stone in the spiritual 

1 Ps. vin. 5, 6. 2 Eph. ii. 19,20. 



EXCELLENCE OP THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD. 5 

Jerusalem, how much greater to be one of its shining 
columns? 

St. Peter addressed these words to the Christian people 
of his time : " Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priest- 
hood, a holy nation, a purchased people/' 1 If it is a 
divine favor to be selected from countless millions of 
souls, and adopted as children of the Christian family, 
how much more precious the grace to be enrolled among 
its chieftains ? If Peter congratulates the faithful on being 
consecrated priests in their baptism, that they might offer 
on the altar of their hearts and in the sanctuary of their 
homes, the spiritual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, 
how much more fervent would be his felicitations to you 
who are made a priest according to the order of Mel- 
chisedech, that you may offer the spotless Lamb in God's 
holy temple ? 

But we cannot adopt a better method for showing forth 
the dignity of the priest, than by enumerating some of 
the principal titles by which he is honored in the Sacred 
Scriptures. 

He is called the Salt of the earth. " Ye are," says our 
Lord, " the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its 
savor, wherewith shall it be salted?" 2 As salt pre- 
serves meat from corruption, so is the priest placed among 
the faithful that he may preserve them from moral taint 
and defilement by the wholesome influence of his example 
and precepts. 

He is called the Light of the world. " Ye are the light 
of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be 
hid." 3 

1 1. Pet. ii. 9. a Matt. v. 13. 8 Ibid. v. 14. 



6 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Jesus is the Sun of Justice. He is "the true light, 
which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the 
world." l After He had descended below the horizon of 
the tomb, the Apostles and their successors were set in the 
firmament, to shine by His light during the dark night 
of this world, until " the Day-star, from on high, would 
arise" and illumine His saints during the never-ending 
day of eternity. 

As a city, built on a mountain, is a guide to the way- 
farer, so is God's minister placed in a conspicuous position 
in the Church, that "to all by whom he is seen and heard, 
he may be an exemplar of celestial life." 2 

The prominence of a priest as a moral guide was beauti- 
fully expressed in his own figurative and poetic language, 
by Old Wolf, a Cheyenne Indian chief in Montana : " In 
the land of the Cheyennes, there is a mountain higher 
than all the mountains around him. All the Cheyennes 
know that mountain; even our forefathers knew him. 
When children, we ran around wheresoever we wanted. 
We were never afraid to lose our way so long as we could 
see that mountain, which would show us home again. 
When grown up, we followed the buffalo aud the elk ; 
we cared not where we pursued the running deer, so long 
as the mountain was in sight ; for we knew he was ever 
a safe guide, and never failed in his duty. When men, 
we fought the Sioux, the Crows, the white men. We 
went after the enemy, though the way ran high up, and 
low down. Our hearts trembled not on account of the 
road ; for as long as we could see the mountain, we felt 
sure of finding our home again. When far away, our 

1 John i.9. * Pontificate Romanum. 



EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD. 7 

hearts leaped for joy on seeing him, because he told us 
that our home came nearer. 

" During the winter, the snow covered all the earth 
with a mantle of white ; w r e could no longer distinguish 
him from other mountains except by his height, which 
told us he was the mountain. Sometimes dark clouds 
gathered above. They hid his head from our view, and 
out of them flew fiery darts, boring holes in his sides. 
The thunder shook him from head to foot; but the storm 
passed away, and the mountain stood forever. 

" This mountain is the Black-robe. His heart is as 
firm as a rock. He changes not. He speaks to us the 
words of truth. We are always sure of our path, when 
we look to him for guidance. He has taught us in the 
summer of his days. And even now, when his head is 
whitened by the snows of many winters, and his face 
is wrinkled by the storms of life, we still recognize him 
as our spiritual chief. He is the mountain that leads us 
up to God." And surely the admiration of the Indian 
Chief was well grounded. For if the world justly honors 
the explorer who has discovered a new continent or an 
island on our globe, what reverence is due to him w T ho 
guides men by the unerring light of faith to the realms 
of eternity ? 

The priest is called the "Man of God" 1 just as Anti- 
christ is called " the Man of Sin," the popular leader is 
called a man of the people, and as the votary of fashion 
and pleasure is called a man of the world. This title the 
priest shares with the prophets of old, because his mission 
like theirs is divine, and because he is exhorted to re- 
semble God in holiness of life. 

*L Tim. vi. 11. 



8 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

He is named the " Servant of God" l " whom to serve 
is to reign. " The most honorable title claimed even by 
the Pope, is : " The servant of the servants of God." 
After Jonas the Prophet had embarked for the port of 
Tarsus, in Cilicia, he fell into a profound sleep. Mean- 
time, a fearful storm arose, which terrified the mariners. 
The shipmaster awoke him, and eagerly asked him: 
" Who art thou ? and whither goest thou ? or of what 
people art thou ? " Jonas replied that he was the servant 
of " the Lord of heaven, who made both the sea and the 
dry land ; " therefore, he feared not the storm. He re- 
garded this prerogative of Servant of God as more sublime 
than that of monarch or conqueror. Well did the Royal 
Prophet exclaim : " Better is one day in Thy courts above 
thousands. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house 
of my God, than dwell in the tabernacles of sinners." 2 
For the dignity of the servant is enhanced by the exalted 
rank of the Master whom he serves. 

The priest is the " Friend of Christ" " I will not now," 
He says, " call you servants, for the servant knoweth not 
what his lord doth ; but I have called you friends, be- 
cause all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father, 
I have made known to you." 3 In becoming the friend, 
he does not, indeed, cease to be the servant of Christ. 
But his is the service of a cherished companion and not 
of a hireling. 

"A faithful friend is a strong defence, and he that 
hath found him, hath found a treasure. Nothing can be 
compared to a faithful friend, and no weight of gold and 
silver is able to countervail the goodness of his fidelity." 4 

1 Tit. i. 1. 3 John xv. 15. 

2 Ps. lxxxiii. 11. 4 Ecclus. vi. 14, 15. 



EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD. V 

If such is the value of an earthly friend, how iuesti- 
mable is the privilege to be like John the Baptist, " the 
friend of the Bridegroom ! " Friends confide to one 
another the secrets of their hearts. This is one of the 
chief characteristics of true friendship. Our Lord mani- 
fested His attachment to His disciples by revealing to 
them the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, which had 
been locked in His own breast, or only partially disclosed 
to others in parables. 

The more we love our Lord, the more desirous we are 
to commune with Him ; and the more we resemble Him 
in our dispositions and aims of life, the more intimately 
will He manifest His friendship for us by communicat- 
ing to us His heavenly secrets : " If any one," He says, 
" love Me, My Father will love him, and We will come 
and will make Our abode with him." l 

He is the Brother* of Jesus. After His Resurrection, 
our Lord sent by Mary Magdalen this touching and 
gracious message to His Apostles : " Go to My Brothers 
and say to them : I ascend to My Father and to your 
Father, to My God and your God." 2 In addressing them 
by this endearing name, He wished to reassure them of 
His abiding love for them, and of His entire forgiveness 
of their abandonment of Him. 

The priest bears the tender name of Father, a title 
which he shares with his eternal Father, " from whom 
all paternity in heaven and on earth is named." 3 "For 
if you have ten thousand instructors," says the Apostle, 
"yet not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus, by the Gospel, 
I have begotten you." 4 He becomes the spiritual father 

1 John xiv. 23. 3 Eph. m. 15. 

* John xx. 7. 4 I. Cor. iv. 15. 



10 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of his flock whom he has brought forth to a new life 
in the regenerating waters of baptism, and whom he 
nourishes with the Bread of heaven. What filial love 
and confidence does not this beautiful name inspire in 
the hearts of the faithful ! For there is no relation more 
close, more potent, and more honorable than that which 
binds the child to the parent. The priest renounces all 
carnal fatherhood, that his affections may be concentrated 
on his spiritual offspring. 

The boatman on the Lake of Geneva used to address 
St. Francis de Sales with great familiarity, by the title of 
Father. The Bishop of Belley, who happened to accom- 
pany him one day, instructed the boatman to call the 
saint My Lord. St. Francis rebuked the prelate, saying : 
il Let them call me their father, and indeed they love me 
as such. O how much more good they do my heart, 
than those who call me Monseigneur ! " 

Some days before his death, Archbishop Bayley, in one 
of his soliloquies, was heard saying : " Father Bayley, 
Bishop Bayley, Archbishop Bayley. I prefer the title of 
Father Bayley." 

But of all designations given to a minister of religion, 
the title of Priest is manifestly the most sacred and honor- 
able. The essential office of a priest is to offer sacrifice : 
" For every high priest taken from among men, is or- 
dained for men in the things that appertain to God, that 
he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins." * As the 
most sublime act of Jesus Christ was His sacrifice on 
Calvary, so the sacrifice of the Mass, which commemo- 
rates the bloody immolation of Christ, is the most august 
act that can be performed by a human being. " No act," 

'Heb.v. 1 



EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD. 1 1 

says St. Thomas, " is greater than the consecration of the 
Body of Christ." The priest brings down on the altar, 
he holds in his hands, and partakes of the same flesh 
that was born of the Virgin Mary. Thomas Carlyle, 
though far from being partial to the Catholic religion, 
says : " Higher task than that of priesthood was allotted 
to no man ! wert thoa but the meanest in that sacred 
Hierarchy, is it not honor enough therein to spend and 
to be spent ? " ! 

The true priest has the noblest mission on earth, not 
only because he offers up the Lamb of God on the altar, 
but also because he immolates himself on the altar of 
duty and charity in behalf of his fellow-beings. His 
whole life is a perpetual sacrifice, and self-sacrifice is an 
evidence of a magnanimous soul. 

He is also called by St. Paul, "a Dispenser of the 
mysteries of God" 2 He is the custodian of the Blessed 
Sacrament, as Joseph in Egypt was the guardian of 
Pharaoh's treasures. The words of Proverbs mav be 
justly applied to him: a He that is the keeper of his 
master, shall be glorified." 3 

As steward, he is also charged with the office of dis- 
pensing the Bread of Life to those worthy of receiving 
it. Like the foster-father of Jesus, he has sometimes to 
carry his Lord among a hostile or an alien people, and 
to shield Him from irreverence. " Who (thinkest thou) 
is the faithful and wise steward whom his lord setteth 
over his household, to give them their measure of wheat 
in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord 
when he shall come, shall find so doing. Truly I say 

1 Sartor Kesartus, B. 1. Ch. x. a Prov. xxvn. 18. 

•I. Cor. iv 1. 



\"2 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

to you, be will set him over all his possessions." l Where 
is the diligent pastor that distributes the Bread of heaven 
to the Christian family ? Blessed is he, for his Master 
will have him reign with Him in heaven. 

The priest is the Minister of reconciliation. "All 
things," says the Apostle, " are of God, who hath recon- 
ciled us to Himself by Christ, and, hath given us the 
ministry of reconciliation ." 2 The priest has jurisdiction 
not only over the natural Body, but also over the mystical 
Body of Christ, which is composed of the members of His 
Church. After the power of consecrating the Body and 
Blood of our Lord, the highest privilege ever conferred 
on man, is that of pardoning sin in the tribunal of pen- 
ance. This prerogative is clearly expressed in the follow- 
ing passages : " Verily, I say to you, whatsoever ye shall 
bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven, and what- 
soever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed also in 
heaven." 3 

"As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you. When 
He had said this, He breathed on them, and He said to 
them : Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins ye shall 
forgive, they are forgiven them : and whose sins ye shall 
retain, they are retained." 4 

So wondrous is this faculty of forgiving sins, that when 
our Saviour exercised this merciful prerogative, the Scribes 
exclaimed : " Who can forgive sins but God ? " For 
hitherto this was an exercise of jurisdiction delegated 
by the Almighty neither to prophet, priest, nor angel. 
Kingly authority affects only the outward acts of man. 
Sacerdotal authority penetrates into the sanctuary of the 

1 Luke xii. 42. 3 Matt. xvm. 18. 

2 II. Cor. v. 18. 4 John xx. 21-23. 



EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD. 13 

soul. Earthly judges punish crime, even though the 
criminal abhors his guilt; it is the priestly privilege to 
pardon the repentant sinner. The sentence of the earthly 
judge is restricted to the temporal life of man ; that of the 
Lord's anointed extends into the regions of eternity. 

The priest is styled the Physician of the soul. " Is any 
man sick among you," says St. James, "Let him call in 
the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, 
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord : and the 
prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord will 
raise him up : and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven 
him." 1 

The priest of the New Law discerns between sin and 
sin, as the priest of the Old Law discerned between leprosy 
and leprosy. But he exercises the functions of a soul- 
physician, not only by his sacramental powers, but also 
by administering the medicine of consolation to the sor- 
rowing, and by prescribing salutary remedies to the 
victims of moral diseases. In his daily visitation, the 
compassionate minister of God brings sunshine into the 
house of mourning. He staunches the bleeding wounds 
of the broken-hearted, cheers the disconsolate, heals domes- 
tic dissensions, and assuages the fever of anger, cupidity, 
and voluptuousness. 

He is called an Angel, or Messenger of God, because 
like the angels he is the bearer of messages between earth 
and heaven, and is " sent to minister for them who shall 
receive the inheritance of salvation." 2 Like the angels, 
also, he should be the exemplar of truth, sincerity, and 
chastity. 

5 James v. 14, 15. 2 Heb. I. 14. 



14 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

" The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they 
shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel 
of the Lord of hosts/' l The prelates appointed to pre- 
side over the seven churches of Asia, are called angels. 2 
When St. John prostrated himself at the feet of an angel, 
that he might worship him, the angel forbade him, saying 
that they were both the fellow-messengers and servants 
of the Lord : "And I fell down before his feet to adore 
him ; and he saith to me : See that thou do it not, for 
I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren who have 
the testimony of Jesus." 3 

The priest is like those angels whom Jacob saw in 
a vision, ascending and descending by a ladder, which 
reached from earth to heaven. He ascends, bearing to 
the throne of God the petitions of the people ; and he 
descends, bringing to them benedictions from the Lord in 
response to their prayers. 

Like Moses, he is a Mediator of intercession between 
God and man, as Christ Jesus, our Lord, is the Mediator 
of redemption. As the official advocate of the people, he 
pleads in their behalf for mercy : " Between the porch 
and the altar the priests, the Lord's ministers, shall weep 
and shall say : Spare, O Lord, spare Thy people, and give 
not Thine inheritance to reproach, that the heathen 
should rule over them." 4 " Every high priest, taken 
from among men, is ordained for men in the things 
that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and 
sacrifices for sins : who can have compassion on them 
that are ignorant and that err, because he himself 
also is encompassed with infirmity. And therefore he 

1 Mai. n. 7. 3 Ibid. xix. 10. 

•Apoc. ii. 4 Joel II. 17. 



EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD. 15 

ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer 
for sins." 1 

The priest is the Ambassador of Christ " For Christ, 
therefore, we are ambassadors, God as it were exhorting 
by us." 2 As there is scarcely any public office more 
honorable or more expressive of a sovereign's esteem and 
confidence than that of ambassador, so there is hardly 
any title in the hierarchy which conveys with it more 
dignity and responsibility than that of Christ's legate. 
The envoy of Jesus Christ upholds and vindicates the 
rights and prerogatives of God among the people to whom 
he is sent, just as a minister plenipotentiary of the civil 
government sustains the power and majesty of the nation 
that he represents. He is furnished with the credentials 
of a divine embassy, and is empowered to prescribe the 
conditions on which men may enter into a treaty of recon- 
ciliation and peace with the King of kings. 

He is a Co-laborer with God. St. Paul says : " We are 
laborers with God." 3 The priest is, therefore, more than 
an ambassador of Christ : he is also His coadjutor in the 
moral government of the world. He not only repre- 
sents Christ, but he personates Him, and becomes identi- 
fied with Him in his ministerial functions, as far as two 
personalities can be considered identical. There exists 
between Jesus Christ and His priesthood, not only a 
succession and continuity, but an identity of ministry. 
The priest not only acts with Christ, by the authority of 
Christ, in the name of Christ, but his official acts are 
Christ's acts. His words are the echo of Christ's voice : 
" Behold," He says, " I am with you all days, even to 

^ieb. v. 1-3. "I. Cor. in. 9. 

2 II. Cor. v. 20. 



16 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

the end of the world." * " He that receiveth you, re- 
ceiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me, receiveth Him 
that sent Me." 2 " He that heareth you, heareth Me, and 
he that despiseth you, despiseth Me ; and he that de- 
spiseth Me, despiseth Him that sent Me." 3 

If the priest addresses to heaven the prayers of the 
faithful, Christ presents them to His eternal Father. If 
he sows the Gospel seed, Christ giveth the increase. 
If he confers the Sacraments, Christ imparts the grace 
that makes them fruitful : " Though Peter baptize," says 
St. Augustine, "it is Christ that baptizeth. Though Paul 
baptize, it is Christ that baptizeth." The priest absolves 
the penitent on earth, Christ ratifies the sentence in 
heaven. If the priest offers the adorable Sacrifice, Christ 
is invisibly present, the High Priest and Victim. In a 
word, " The priest is another Christ." 

Our Lord, in His gracious condescension, thus asso- 
ciates us with Himself, as partners and colleagues in the 
work of the apostolate. It is by virtue of this coopera- 
tion that the merits of His sacrifice on Calvary are 
applied, and the light of His Gospel is diffused through- 
out the world. 

In short, if the Church is an army, the priests are its 
captains ; if it is a sheep-fold, they are its shepherds, lead- 
ing the flock to healthy pastures and refreshing streams. 
If the Church is a city, they are its appointed magis- 
trates ; if it is a vine, they are the branches clustering 
around the parent stem, from which they draw their 
vitality and support; if it is named the holy city Jerusa- 
lem, they are placed as guardians and defenders on its 

1 Matt. xxvm. 20. 3 Luke x. 16. 

2 Ibid. x. 40. 



EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRIESTHOOD. 17 

watch-towers. "Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have 
appointed watchmen all the day, and all the night ; they 
shall never hold their peace." l If the missionary world 
is a sea, they are its fishermen. If it is a field, they are 
the sowers of the good seed, without whose labor the land 
would be a barren waste. If Christ compares His Church 
to a kingdom, the priests are its vice-gerents, governing 
their subjects according to the law of God, and enforcing 
obedience by religious and moral sanctions : " Thou hast 
made us a kingdom and priests to our God, and we shall 
reign on the earth." 2 

The dignity of the priest as a spiritual king and leader 
of the people is beautifully expressed by Carlyle : " The 
priest presides over the worship of the people; is the 
uniter of them with the unseen Holy. He is the spiritual 
captain of the people; he guides them heavenward, by 
wise guidance through this earth and its work. The 
ideal of him is that he be what we call a voice from the 
unseen heaven, interpreting even as the prophet did, and 
in a more familiar manner, unfolding the same to men. 
He is the prophet shorn of his more awful splendor, 
burning with mild radiance, as the enlightener of daily 
life. This, I say, is the ideal of a priest. So in old 
times, so in these, and in all times. A priest who is not 
this to all, who does not any longer aim or try to be this, 
is a character of whom we had rather not speak in this 
place." 3 

May we not exclaim with St. Ephrem : " O glorious 
miracle ! O ineffable power ! O tremendous mystery of 
the holy and sublime priesthood, most venerable and 

1 Isaiah lxh. 6. 2 Apoc. v. 10. 3 Heroes and Hero Worship. 
2 



18 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

without blemish, with which Christ, coming into this 
world, has vouchsafed to clothe His unworthy creatures ! 
On bended knees, with sighs and tears, must I beg the 
grace to comprehend this celestial gift, a treasure, indeed, 
to those who guard it worthily and holily. Truly is it 
a tower of strength, an indestructible wall that reaches 
from earth to heaven. The priest pauses not at the celes- 
tial gates; he penetrates even the heaven of heavens. 
Behold him in the midst of the angels, in company with 
the angelical host. Even as those bright spirits does he 
enjoy the intimacy of the Lord, the Creator and Source 
of all light; he has but to desire, and he instantly obtains 
by right, so to speak, all that he asks/' ! 

God has honored you, my Brother. Be it yours to 
say with St. Paul in grateful homage : "As long, indeed, 
as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I will honor my 
ministry." 2 



2 Oratio de Sacerdotio. 2 Rom. xi. 13. 



CHAPTER II. 
Divine Vocation to the Sacred Ministry. 

HOW sublime is the vocation to the sacred ministry, 
and how privileged the candidate upon whom this 
mark of predilection is bestowed ! The Lord Himself is 
the Master in whose service he is enlisted ; he is the dis- 
penser of the word of God and of the Bread of Life ; the 
kingdom of heaven is the special object of his thoughts, 
the goal of his ambition. 

Vocation to the priesthood is a providential act, by 
which God selects some persons in preference to others 
for the work of the ministry, and confers on them par- 
ticular graces for its faithful execution. 

Hence, there are two elements in a divine vocation : 
God's free choice of His elect, and the outpouring of His 
grace to enable him to discharge the sacred duties assigned 
to him. 

It is in accordance with the economy of Divine Provi- 
dence that, whenever* Almighty God calls a man to a 
position in life beset with difficulties and dangers, and 
requiring an extraordinary exercise of virtue, He favors 
him with special gifts to accomplish his mission, and 
inclines his heart toward the worthy fulfilment of the 
obligations confronting him. But it is obvious that the 
office of the Christian priesthood is most arduous and 
formidable, and demands the practic of the highest 

19 



20 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

virtue ; therefore, the worthy candidate may confidently 
rely on the supernatural help needful for him. 

The necessity of a vocation to the priesthood cannot be 
gainsaid. It is clearly affirmed in the Sacred Scriptures, 
and intrusion into the sanctuary without evidences of a 
divine call, is denounced by the voice of Revelation as 
not only a usurpation, but a sacrilege. 

Among the twelve tribes of Israel, God selected that 
of Levi for the exclusive service of the altar : " The Lord 
hath chosen you to stand before Him, and to minister to 
Him, and to worship Him, and to burn incense to Him." 1 

St. Paul declares that Christ Himself did not assume 
the dignity of High Priest till He was called by His 
eternal Father : " No man taketh the honor to himself, 
but he that is called by God as Aaron was : so Christ also 
did not glorify Himself that He might be made a High 
Priest, but He that said unto Him : Thou art My Son, 
to-day have I begotten Thee. As He saith also in another 
place : Thou art a Priest forever according to the order 
of Melchisedech" 2 Who can presume to undertake the 
functions of the ministry without the sanction of a 
heavenly call, since the great High Priest Himself did 
not do so until He was commissioned by His eternal 
Father? 

Christ utters the following denunciation against those 
that enter the sanctuary by a forbidden and tortuous 
route: "Amen, amen, I say to you: He that entereth 
not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up 
another way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he 
that entereth in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep. 
To him the porter openeth ; and the sheep hear his voice." 3 

1 II. Par. xxix. 11. 2 Heb. v. 4-6. 3 John x. 1-3. 



DIVINE VOCATION TO THE SACRED MINISTRY. 21 

In the law of grace, the Apostles were expressly called 
to the service of God by their Divine Master. As Jesus 
was walking by the Sea of Galilee, "He saw Simon and 
Andrew his brother casting nets into the sea (for they 
were fishermen). And Jesus said to them : Come after 
Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And 
immediately leaving their nets, they followed Him. And 
going on from thence a little farther, He saw James, the 
son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were 
mending their nets in the ship. And forthwith He called 
them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the ship with 
his hired men, they followed Him." l 

"And after these things, He went forth and saw a 
publican named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom, 
and He said to him : Follow Me. And leaving all 
things, he rose up and followed Him." 2 

Soon after the call of Matthew, or Levi, our Lord 
chose the twelve Apostles. " It came to pass in those 
days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and 
He passed the whole night in prayer to God. And 
when day was come, He called unto Him His disciples ; 
and He chose twelve of them (whom also He named 
Apostles)." 3 

And in His last discourse, He solemnly reminds them 
of their special election, of their mission, and of the fruit 
which they were expected to bring forth : " Ye have not 
chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and have appointed 
you, that ye should go, and should bring forth fruit, and 
your fruit should remain, 



99 4 



1 Mark i. 16-20. 3 Luke vi. 12, 13. 

2 Luke v. 27, 28. 4 John xv. 16. 



22 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Matthias, also, was called to the apostolate by the direct 
agency of the Holy Ghost. When the Apostles had de- 
termined to select a successor to Judas, " They appointed 
two, Joseph .... and Matthias, and praying, they said : 
Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show 
whether of these two Thou hast chosen to take the place 
of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath 
by transgression fallen. . . . And the lot fell upon Mat- 
thias, and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles." 1 

Paul's miraculous conversion, and the subsequent voca- 
tion of himself and Barnabas are graphically told in the 
Acts of the Apostles. When Ananias hesitated to approach 
Paul, because he had hitherto been a persecutor of the 
Church, "the Lord said to him: Go thy way, for this 
man is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My name before 
the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel. For 
I will show him how great things he must suffer for My 
name's sake." 2 

Later, as the Apostles " were ministering to the Lord, 
and fasting, the Holy Ghost said to them : Separate Me 
Saul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have taken 
them. Then they, fasting and praying, and imposing 
their hands upon them, sent them away. So they, being 
sent by the Holy Spirit, preached the word of God." 3 
St. Paul, from a profound sense of gratitude for his extra- 
ordinary election, refers to it frequently in his Epistles. 

In his Epistle to the Romans, he insists on a divine 
vocation as an indispensable charter for the official heralds 
of the Gospel : " How then shall they call on Him in 
whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe 

'Acts i. 23-26. 2 Acts ix 15, 16. 3 Ibid. xm. 2-5. 



DIVINE VOCATION TO THE SACRED MINISTRY. 23 

Him of whom they have not heard ? And how shall they 
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach 
unless they be sent ? " l This commission is not from kings 
or civil magistrates, but from the Lord Himself, either 
directly or through His lawful representatives. 

In fact, there are few transgressors more sternly de- 
nounced in the sacred text than they who presume without 
a call from God, to become the self-constituted and mis- 
leading heralds of His law : " The prophets prophesy 
falsely in My name. I sent them not, neither have I 
commanded them, nor have I spoken to them : they 
prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination, and 
deceit, and the seduction of their own heart." 2 

" Son of man, prophesy thou against the prophets of 
Israel that prophesy. And thou shalt say to them that 
prophesy out of their own heart : Hear ye the word of 
the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God : Wo to the foolish 
prophets that follow their own spirit, and see nothing. . . . 
They see vain things, and they foretell lies, saying : The 
Lord saith : Whereas the Lord hath not sent them. . . . 
Therefore thus saith the Lord God : Because ye have 
spoken vain things, and have seen lies, therefore behold 
I come against you, saith the Lord God. . . . They shall 
not be in the counsel of My people, neither shall they 
enter into the land of Israel." 3 

Indeed, it is scarcely necessary to produce these proofs 
from the sacred oracles, in order to be convinced that we 
must be empowered by a call from God, and fortified by 
His grace, before presuming to undertake ministerial duties 
and obligations, formidable even to angels. So weighty 

1 Rom. x. 14, 15. 2 Jer. xiv. 14. 3 Ezech. xm, 2-9. 



24 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

are our responsibilities, so immense the sacrifices we are 
called upon to make, that many sincere people outside the 
Church, imagine that we are not in reality what we pro- 
fess to be, and that it is even impossible for us to fulfil the 
vows we take at our ordination. 

The candidate for Orders places his hands between 
those of the officiating prelate, at the foot of the altar, 
and solemnly promises a life-long obedience to his bishop. 
He must be ready to go to any part of the diocese to 
which he may be sent, and to assume any duties that may 
be imposed on him. 

He becomes the servant of the faithful to whom he is 
assigned. He ministers to them every morning at the 
altar, and preaches to them the word of God in season 
and out of season. He responds to their summons night 
and day. He is to be a light to those that are in dark- 
ness; he is food to the hungry, a refreshing fountain to 
those that thirst after righteousness, a guide to the way- 
farer, a physician to the soul-sick, and a father to the 
whole congregation. 

He makes a vow, not of conjugal, but of virginal chas- 
tity ; he must be pure not only in body, but in mind, 
heart, and affection also. He must be " a pattern of the 
flock from the heart." It behooves him to maintain an 
unsullied reputation before an observing, critical, and 
unsparing world. 

He is obliged to move daily in the poisonous atmos- 
phere of sin, without breathing its infection. He will, so 
to speak, have to touch pitch with unsullied hands. He 
must be prepared to minister to the victims of pestilential 
diseases, at the risk, and even, if necessary, at the sacrifice 
of his life. 



DIVINE VOCATION TO THE SACRED MINISTRY. 25 

In a word, He is expected to be in the world, though 
not of the world, and all these tremendous responsibilities 
are assumed, not for a term of years, but for a lifetime. 
The armor of God, with which he was clothed on the day 
upon which he was enrolled among the Christian leaders, 
is laid aside only at the hour of death. 

Surely,the soldier that engages in an unremitting cam- 
paign of this kind, without an express command from the 
great Captain and without the shield of grace to protect 
him, will be confounded as was Saul when he followed 
the counsels of human prudence, rather than the oracle 
of Heaven. 

Many doctors and saints of the Church, notwithstand- 
ing their extraordinary abilities and their predilection for 
an evangelical life and apostolic labors, hesitated to enter 
the ranks of the priesthood from a profound sense of the 
holiness it required and the duties it imposed. 

St. Ambrose fled and hid himself; he yielded only to 
pressure before he could be prevailed upon to be ordained. 
St. Augustine avoided episcopal cities, lest he should fall 
under the eye of a bishop, who might be desirous of pro- 
moting him to sacred Orders. St. Jerome, though eminent 
for learning and merits, resisted Paulinus, his bishop, for 
a considerable time before consenting to have hands im- 
posed on him. So deeply was the humble St. Francis 
of Assisi penetrated with the spirit of reverence for the 
sacerdotal character, that he would never aspire to the 
priesthood, but lived content with deacon's Orders. The 
same may be said of the glorious St. Benedict, Patriarch 
of the Western Monks. The contrast between these men 
of God and others (happily, very few) who stride toward 



26 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

the sanctuary with eager and irreverent steps, is well 
expressed by the poet : 

" Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." 

If a man is justly regarded as an intruder and an incu- 
bus on any civil profession, whose ranks he enters without 
calling or capacity for it, what an insult does he oifer to 
God, what an injury he inflicts on religion, and what 
disorder on Christian society, who thrusts himself into 
the ministry without a divine vocation and, consequently, 
without the grace and aptitude indispensable for its sacred 
functions ! 

The mischief occasioned by an unworthy priest would 
be more endurable if, after an unsuccessful trial, he could 
return to secular avocations. But he is debarred by his 
sacred profession from worldly pursuits, and whatever be 
his demerits (unless he is to be a burden on the diocese) 
he must hold some position of trust. He thus becomes 
the sterile occupant of a field in which another would 
produce rich fruit, like the barren fig-tree, of which our 
Lord said : " Cut it down, therefore, why cumbereth it 
the ground?" 1 

There are some candidates who may enter the seminary 
and continue there for a protracted period, without seri- 
ously considering the burdens and responsibilities insepa- 
rable from the ministry. They are influenced principally, 
if not solely, by the temporal advantages supposed to be 
attached to it. They may be dazzled by the glare which 
their youthful and vivid imagination throws around the 
priestly state, or attracted by its honors and emoluments, 

1 Luke xiii. 7. 



DIVINE VOCATION TO THE SACRED MINISTRY. 27 

or allured by the ease and comfort which, according to 
their fancy, clergymen enjoy. They resemble a certain 
youth who, when questioned as to his vocation by the 
bishop to whom he had applied for adoption, frankly 
answered that he had a strong prejudice against work, 
and that, therefore, the ministry suited him very well; 
or they may be impelled by an inordinate ambition to 
seek in the Church a preferment which they would de- 
spair of compassing in secular life. 

Does it not sometimes happen that a student who has 
entered the seminary in obedience to parental wishes, 
hesitates to return to the world, even after he is conscious 
that he is not called to the ministry, because he fears to 
incur his parents' displeasure, or perhaps, because he has a 
certain vague and superstitious dread that "having put 
his hand to the plough, he should not look back ? " 

Such a youth should remember that, by ceasing to 
aspire to a profession to which he is not called, far from 
deserving a stigma of reproach, he is pursuing a prudent 
and honorable course; that salvation is not confined to 
the priesthood ; and that a man who would be an indif- 
ferent clergyman may make an upright and exemplary 
layman. 

When Matthias and Joseph appeared before the apos- 
tolic College, the former alone was chosen for the ministry. 
And yet we have no reason to doubt that Joseph served 
the Lord in the private walks of life not less faithfully 
than Matthias in the work of the apostolate. 

But it would be manifestly unjust, as well as ungrateful, 
to refer even incidentally to the interested motives of some 
parents, without recording our admiration for the host of 
Christian mothers of America to whom, under God, the 



28 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Church is indebted for so many of her most zealous and 
devoted levites. Almighty God, who usually employs 
secondary agents in the choice of His ministers, often 
selects pious matrons for moulding the character, and 
directing the steps of their sons toward the sanctuary. If 
some have been actuated by motives of temporal consider- 
ation, like the mother of the sons of Zebedee, hundreds 
could be named, like the mothers of Samuel, of Chrysos- 
tom, and of Augustine, who sacrificed parental affection to 
the interests of heaven, and inspired their sons with the 
loftiest and holiest conceptions of the Christian priesthood. 

In calling us to the service of the altar, God has due 
regard for our free-will ; hence, our hearty cooperation is 
necessary to render our vocation efficacious. 

By resisting the divine call, a true vocation may be lost 
or made void, as happened to the young man mentioned 
in the Gospel: " Jesus looking on him, loved him, and 
said to him : One thing is wanting unto thee. Go, sell 
whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, . . . and follow 
Me. Who, being struck sad at that saying, went away 
sorrowful, for lie had great possessions." ! 

Some, without ever being ordained, may lose their voca- 
tion by habitual contempt of seminary rules, by leading a 
tepid life, by spurning the inspirations of Heaven, and 
by daily conduct incompatible with the sacred profession 
to which they aspire. Perhaps they allow their first 
fervor to cool, and yield to dissipation of mind and heart 
during the annual vacation, which is intended to be a 
period of healthful recreation for soul and body ; or 
they may have sullied their soul by grosser vices totally 
at variance with the sanctity of the priesthood. By a 

^arkx. 21,22. 



DIVINE VOCATION TO THE SACRED MINISTRY. 29 

compulsory or voluntary withdrawal from the seminary 
without receiving Orders, certainly a less evil befalls them 
than if they had undergone the imposition of hands. 

That many priests who had an undoubted vocation to 
the Sanctuary, have been wrecked in faith and morals, 
is attested by melancholy monuments along the high- 
road of history, even in the golden age of the Church. 
Judas was chosen for the apostolate by Christ Himself, 
and yet he fell. St. Paul thus pathetically laments the 
apostasy of a fellow-laborer called by himself: "Demas 
hath left me, loving this world." l St. John, in his Apoca- 
lypse, denounces the Bishop of Laodicea for having aban- 
doned the spirit of his vocation by a life of luxurious 
indolence. " Thou sayest : I am rich, and have need of 
nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, and 
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." 2 

But alas ! what need is there of citing such examples 
of remote history ? Are we not shocked in our own day 
by the sad spectacle of degraded ministers of the Gospel 
who have not only soiled their sacred garments, but un- 
blushingly glory in their shame before the world ; who 
have not only forsaken the Mother that reared them, but 
who insult and vilify her, who hire themselves for a price 
to the enemy ? 

How were these lights extinguished ? How did these 
ambassadors of Christ perish ? Very probably, their down- 
ward course began in the seminary, where they led an 
indolent and tepid life, without betraying, however, any 
evidence of glaring delinquencies. The day of ordination 
was contemplated by them, not with salutary dread on 

1 II. Tim. iv. 9. 2 Apoc. in. 17. 



30 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

account of the new yoke it imposed, but rather with joy 
as emancipating them from seminary restraints, and in- 
augurating a reign of mundane freedom. 

In the ministry, they lived without order or method. 
They prayed without devotion. Their official duties were 
irksome and oppressive, and were performed in a perfunc- 
tory manner. The studies congenial to the ecclesiastical 
state became an intolerable bore. They lived on the 
excitement of the hour. They were, at first, sustained by 
amusements which were harmless. When these began to 
pall, they indulged in more stimulating and dangerous 
pleasures. 

Meantime, God's grace was less abundantly bestowed 
on them ; their conscience became blunted ; their intellect 
clouded ; for " the sensual man perceiveth not these things 
that are of the Spirit of God." l Those divine warnings 
which before had stung the soul, were brushed aside as 
weak-minded scruples. To every fresh attack of tempta- 
tion, they offered a more feeble resistance, till, at last, they 
fell easy and willing captives to the tempter. It may be 
remarked that the two rocks which have occasioned the 
greatest number of wrecks, are intemperance and impurity. 

The relative proportion of those ordained with a super- 
natural call, to those that receive Orders without a voca- 
tion, God alone can reveal. St. Alphonsus was of the 
opinion that a considerable percentage of priests were 
ordained without a divine election. 2 St. Chrysostom and 
others seem to take the same view. The impressions of 
these learned and apostolic men are worthy of most serious 
consideration ; but they wrote, of course, for their own age 

1 1. Cor. ii. 14. ' 2 Homo Apos. Tract, vn. No. 47. 



DIVINE VOCATION TO THE SACRED MINISTRY. 31 

and country, and their estimate was influenced by the 
circumstances of the times and the environments in which 
they lived. 

Some old and experienced superiors and directors of 
seminaries in this country, have informed me that the 
number of those who are raised to the priesthood without 
a vocation, in the institutions under their charge, is in 
their judgment comparatively small. In the United 
States there are no benefices, and very few patrimonies to 
tempt the unworthy aspirant to Holy Orders ; while on 
the other hand, there are many attractive and lucrative 
fields of labor in secular life to excite the laudable 
ambition of our young men, and to remove from them 
the pretext of entering the ministry from sordid con- 
siderations. 

But instead of indulging in this speculative question, 
the solution of which cannot affect you personally one 
way or the other, I would rather recall to your mind what 
Jesus said to Peter, when the latter was curious to know 
the destiny of John : " What is it to thee ? Follow thou 
Me;" and I would exhort you in these words of the 
Prince of the Apostles : " Labor the more, that by good 
works you may make sure your calling and election. For 
doing these things, you shall not sin at any time. For so 
an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into 
the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ." 1 



J IL Pet. i. 10, 11. 



CHAPTER III. 
Marks of a Divine Vocation. 

SINCE no man can assume the duties of the priest- 
hood, unless he is called by God, as Aaron was, 
and since the candidate is not now chosen, as were the 
Apostles directly by the voice of Christ, he must be 
furnished with some marks or signs, which will give him 
a practical assurance of his divine vocation. 

The first and the best criterion of an election to the 
Sanctuary, consists in a heavenly attraction toward the 
service of the Lord and His Church. 

But not every attraction is a proof of a call from God. 
It may have for its object the essential duties of the minis- 
try, or its mere accessories and appendages. 

By the accessories of the ministry are understood those 
external circumstances which constitute the situation of a 
priest in a Christian society, and which imply a certain 
degree of authority, respect, honor, influence, temporal 
gain, ease, and comfort. 

The acceptance within reasonable limits, of the honors 
and emoluments incidental to the ministry, cannot be 
unlawful, as they are the legitimate tributes attached by 
Christian usages to the sacerdotal state, and St. Paul 
says : " Let the priests that rule well be esteemed worthy 
of double honor, especially they who labor in word and 
32 



MARKS OF A DIVINE VOCATION. 33 

doctrine . . . and the laborer is worthy of his reward" 1 
" They who work in the holy place, eat the things that 
are of the holy place ; and they who preach the Gospel, 
should live by the Gospel." 2 

We may occasionally pluck the fruits of honor along 
the roadside, if they hang in our way, but we are not 
to cross the fence to reach them, still less are they to be 
our sustaining food. 

The day on which Bishop Verot was consecrated for 
the See of St. Augustine, after receiving with quiet dig- 
nity the honors and congratulations bestowed on him by 
his friends, I heard him remark : " To-day the ox is 
wreathed in garlands ; but to-morrow the sacrifice of the 
victim begins." And, surely, his whole episcopal life 
was a sacrifice well-pleasing to the Lord. The homage 
of reverence justly paid him, he did not disdain ; but his 
heart was in the work which lay before him. 

But if the aim which impelled us in aspiring to the 
priesthood, were solely or chiefly the desire of its dis- 
tinctions and emoluments, such an incentive would not 
only clearly indicate the absence of a divine election, but 
would be positively sinful. 

The real indication, then, of a heavenly call to the 
service of God, is found in an attraction for the priest- 
hood with the view of procuring His glory and the 
salvation of souls, and in a relish for the functions and 
duties by which this two-fold object is to be attained. 

If God ordinarily gives men a taste for the civic pur- 
suits of life in which they embark, He will not fail to 
incline the heart of the levite to the sacred profession 

1 1. Tim v. 17, 18. 2 1. Cor. ix. 13, 14. 

3 



34 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

to which He calls him. Happy is he in whom this 
tendency is sweet, strong, and constant ! He takes delight 
in his work, he has an abiding assurance that the Lord is 
with him. 

This inclination embraces an honest desire, an earnest 
good-will, to perform with purity of intention the work 
of the ministry, though the details of that work may be 
as yet only imperfectly understood. The generous novice 
is filled with the sentiments of Saul, when he exclaimed : 
"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" 

It is worthy of remark that our Saviour never sought 
to allure His disciples to the apostolate by setting before 
them the dignities, honors, or temporal advantages that 
might be associated with their ministry. His practice 
was rather to inure them to its hardships by frequently 
representing to them the privations, the trials, and the 
sacrifices to be endured in His service. Forewarned, they 
were forearmed, and the adversities they were actually 
to encounter, became not only less formidable, but were 
even joyfully borne, after they had habitually confronted 
them in imagination, and looked on them as their earthly 
portion. 

On the occasion particularly of the disciples' election 
to the work of the ministry, Jesus minutely portrayed 
the self-denying features of their mission. He braced 
their energies and cheered their hearts by the influence 
of His own example, and by reminding them that they 
were constantly under the sleepless eye of their Heavenly 
Father, without whose knowledge and permission a hair 
of their head would not be disturbed. 1 

1 Matt. x. 30. 



MARKS OF A DIVINE VOCATION. 35 

He revealed to Peter the martyrdom that was to crown 
his earthly labors. 1 

Of Paul, He said : " I will show him how great things 
he must suffer for My name's sake." 2 

The sons of Zebedee He gently weaned from their thirst 
for earthly distinction, which had marred their zeal for 
God's glory, by telling them that their mission was to 
suffer, and that they should partake of His chalice. 3 

The conduct of these two Apostles ought to serve as a 
comfort and an admonition to the ingenuous disciple of 
Christ. It teaches him not to be disheartened, nor to 
question his vocation, if he finds the flame of his zeal 
mingled as yet with some smoke of selfish considerations; 
but rather to labor day by day at eliminating the dross 
of worldly desires from the gold of a pure intention, and 
to consider as addressed to himself what our Lord said to 
the Bishop of Laodicea : " I counsel thee to buy of Me 
gold fire-tried, that thou mayest be rich" in divine charity, 
" and mayest be clothed in the white garments " 4 of an 
unsullied priesthood. 

The attraction for the ecclesiastical state is not always 
very sensibly felt. It may even co-exist with a dread of 
its responsibilities, and with a natural repugnance for some 
duties of* the ministry. This repugnance will be gradually 
overcome by the sweet unction of God's grace, by the 
consciousness of good accomplished, and by frequent 
repetitions of the same acts. 

A judicious director of one of our seminaries advised 
some of the more advanced theological students to habitu- 

1 John xxi. 18. 3 Matt. xx. 23. 

2 Acts ix. 16. 4 Apoc. in. 18. 



36 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

ate themselves to the more distasteful occupations of mis- 
sionary life by visiting and instructing the inmates of an 
institution most of whom were repulsive in appearance, 
coarse in manners, and little acquainted with even the 
rudiments of religion. The ordeal was, at first, a trying 
one; but after a while, when they realized the gratitude 
of their untutored congregation, and the rich fruits result- 
ing from their labors, the exercise became delightful. 
No pleasure is more keen than that which springs from 
the tangible evidence of the happiness we communicate 
to others. 

I was, also, acquainted with a clergyman who had 
deferred his ordination for one or two years, on account 
of the aversion he felt to the office of hearing confessions. 
But shortly after having embraced the priesthood, it 
became his most congenial and cherished occupation, 
being made sensible of the peace and comfort he brought 
to others in the tribunal of Penance. 

Innocence of life and integrity of moral character is 
another mark of a divine vocation, or rather a sign of 
one's fitness for the ministry, and an indispensable condi- 
tion for its adequate fulfilment. It is self-evident that 
the standard-bearer of Gospel holiness should be con- 
spicuous for moral heroism ; his life should be the sweet 
perfume of the doctrine that he preaches. " Lord, who 
shall dwell in thy tabernacle, or who shall rest in Thv 
holy hill ? He that walketh without blemish, and work- 
eth justice : he that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath 
not used deceit in his tongue, nor hath done evil to his 
neighbor, nor taken up a reproach against his neighbors." ! 

1 Ps. xiv. 1-3. 



MARKS OF A DIVINE VOCATION. 37 

" Be ye clean," says Isaiah, " you that carry the vessels 
of the Lord." * 

" Whosoever of thy seed throughout their families, hath 
a blemish, he shall not offer bread to his God ; neither 
shall he approach to minister unto Him." 2 " By blem- 
ish," says St. Thomas, "all vice is understood." 3 If 
moral defilement excluded the priests of the Old Law 
from offering bread to the Lord, it ought certainly to 
debar the priests of the law of grace from handling the 
Body of Christ in the Holy Sacrifice. 

" Purer than any solar ray, should be the hand which 
divides the flesh (of Christ), that mouth which is filled 
with spiritual fire, that tongue which is purpled with that 
most awful blood." 4 

"To the sinner, God hath said: Why dost thou declare 
My justices, and take My covenant in thy mouth ? See- 
ing thou hast hated discipline, and hast cast My words 
behind thee." 5 Even the world which is so tolerant of 
sin, has no patience with the hypocrite or the libertine 
who announces the Gospel with polluted lips. 

St. Paul thus rebukes the religious instructor whose 
example does not correspond with his words : " Thou, 
therefore, that teachest another, teachest not thyself. 
Thou that makest thy boast of the law, by transgression 
of the law, dishonorest God." 6 

St. Alphonsus teaches that a higher degree of sanctity 
is required for Sacred Orders, than for the religious 
state, and that the virtue of a priest ought to bear some 

1 Isai. mi. 11. 4 St. Chrysostom. 

2 Lev. xxi. 17. 5 Ps. xmx. 16, 17. 
3 Supplem. Quaest. 36. 6 Kom. n. 21-23. 



38 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

proportion to the excellency of his vocation, and the 
responsibilities of his charge. 1 

The priest should be adorned with innocence preserved, 
or, at least, with innocence regained by true repentance 
and long-tried virtue. Some, indeed, of the most emi- 
nent saints had grievously sinned before they undertook 
the work of the ministry. Who committed more flagrant 
offences than Peter and Augustine? And yet they became 
shining lights, and the greatest pillars of the Church. 
They amply atoned for their transgressions by extraordi- 
nary humility and solid virtue. Their examples are 
given, that they who have erred by youthful delinquen- 
cies should not despair of being raised to the priesthood. 
Such examples, however, are few, in order to remind us 
that blameless youth is the ideal nursery of the Sanc- 
tuary. It is much easier to abide in virtue, maintained 
from youth, than to recover and preserve it after it has 
once been lost. " It is good for a man," says the prophet, 
" when he hath borne the yoke from his youth." 2 

Hence, the Church desires that religious safeguards 
should, in early youth, be thrown around those that 
exhibit a tendency for the ministry; and she strongly 
recommends the establishment of preparatory seminaries, 
in which the morals of young men may be sheltered from 
the incursions of vice, and their pious aspirations fostered 
and developed. 

Another requisite element in a divine vocation, is a 
capacity for the work of the ministry. "God fits the 
back to the burden." St. Paul, speaking of himself and 
his fellow- Apostles, says : "God hath made us^ ministers 

1 Homo. Apos. 2 Lamen. in. 27. 



MARKS OF A DIVINE VOCATION. 39 

of the New Testament ; " ! intimating that they were not 
only called to the apostolate, but that they had the ability 
to perform its duties. If capability is needed for the 
proper fulfilment of any civil occupation, it is preemi- 
nently demanded of those that aspire to the most exalted 
and exacting of all professions. 

Hence, a student who has a call to the priesthood, will 
obviously have a taste for the cultivation of the sciences 
suitable to his state of life, and that will enable him to 
discharge its functions with credit and ability. 

Of course, all students are not gifted with the same 
degree of talent. Every candidate cannot hope to be a 
Cyprian or a Chrysostom, a Jerome or an Augustine. 
" Every one," says the Apostle, a hath his proper gift from 
God." 2 " To one He gave five talents, and to another two, 
and to another one." 3 One student may be endowed with 
brilliant acquirements, and another with solid judgment. 
It does not always occur that these two gifts are conspicu- 
ously combined in the same person. 

Experience shows that solid judgment with moderate, 
though sufficient, attainments, is far more serviceable to 
religion than brilliant talents combined with a deficiency 
in practical sense. The occasions for the display of 
genius are rare; the opportunities for the exercise of 
mother-wit and discretion occur every hour of the day. 
Whenever a student applied for adoption into the arch- 
diocese, Archbishop Spalding was accustomed to make 
this inquiry regarding him : " Has he common sense? — 
which," with a touch of humor he used to add, " is not so 
very common a commodity." 

1 II. Cor. m. 2 1. Cor. vn. 7. 3 Matt. xxv. 15. 



40 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

And, indeed, a lack of prudence and tact usually 
exposes a diocesan priest to more serious blunders than 
similar defects would occasion a religious. A member of 
a Religious Order generally leads a community life. His 
judicious superior assigns to him special duties suitable 
to his capacity ; but a secular clergyman frequently lives 
alone. He is constantly thrown into relations with per- 
sons dissimilar in disposition and avocations of life ; he 
is charged with pursuits of a most varied character. He 
becomes all to all, that he may save all. 1 

If the foregoing qualities of mind are supplemented by 
earnestness of manner, by force of character, strength of 
will, tenacity of purpose, and by a serious view of the 
path of duty that lies before him, the devout student 
will have a well-grounded hope to become " a fit minister 
of the New Covenant." 

It may be observed, however, that the last two notes, 
namely, innocence of life and capacity for ministerial 
duties, are to be regarded as negative rather than positive 
marks of a vocation. They are evidences of fitness for the 
work of the ministry, rather than proofs of a supernatural 
election; for there are in the world hosts of upright men, 
versed in sacred lore, and to whom theological studies 
are congenial ; nevertheless, with all these gifts, it cannot 
be said that they have a divine call to the priesthood. 

The fourth mark of a vocation is the official call to 
Sacred Orders announced by the bishop through his 
legitimate representatives, the Faculty of the seminary. 
A man may be endowed with the martial spirit of a 
soldier, yet he cannot be enrolled among the defenders 

] L Cor. ix. 19. 



MARKS OF A DIVINE VOCATION. 41 

of his country till he is enlisted by his superior officer. 
Another may possess legal acumen of a high order, and 
a judicial frame of mind, but he cannot assume the 
ermine and ascend the bench till he is lawfully elected. 

Neither can the aspirant for the ministry put on its 
robes and exercise its functions, unless duly summoned 
by the living voice of authority. 

God rules the Church as He governs the world, through 
subordinate agents. As He regenerates souls in Baptism, 
absolves from sin in the Sacrament of Penance, and pro- 
claims His Gospel by the lips of men, so in the election 
to the Sanctuary is He represented by His established 
delegates. 

The conscientious and faithful levite will, therefore, 
unfalteringly recognize the voice of his director as the 
voice of God. 

Matthias, who was chosen to the ministry through the 
agency of the Apostles, was as much assured of his divine 
election as was Peter, who had been called by the living 
voice of Christ Himself. 

But how profoundly should the directors of seminaries 
be penetrated with a sense of their responsibility, when 
they reflect that they are the final arbiters to determine 
the selection of the successors to the Apostles ! 

Jesus Christ, before choosing His Apostles, spent a 
whole night in solitary supplication on the mountain. 
Surely, His judgment had no need of being enlightened 
by prayer. But His protracted communion with His 
Father was to serve as an admonition to every director 
charged with the training of young evangelists that, 
before deciding on their vocation, he should seek light 
" from the Father of lights." 



42 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

The leaders of the Church had recourse to prayer before 
the election of Matthias, 1 and to prayer with fasting before 
the vocation of Saul and Barnabas. 2 

St. Paul gives the following solemn charge to Timothy : 
" Impose not hands lightly upon any man, neither be par- 
taker of other men's sins, " 3 by assuming without inves- 
tigation, the fitness of the candidate for the service of the 
altar. If this admonition was given at a time when 
conversions were growing apace and missionaries were 
few, how much more imperatively is circumspection in 
superiors now required when applicants for the priest- 
hood are daily multiplied? 

The director is, however, but human. With all his 
insight and discernment, he is liable to err unless you 
disclose to him your heart with child-like simplicity, 
sincerely manifesting the motives that prompt you to 
aspire to the Sanctuary, as well as the weak and vulner- 
able points in your character. 

But, above all, you should have recourse to God, who 
"searcheth the heart and the reins" of men, that He 
would deign to guide you in the momentous step on 
which your future destiny so much depends. Say to 
Him with the prophet : " Make known to me the way 
wherein I should walk, for I have lifted up my soul 
to Thee. Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art 
my God." 4 

Then, if your own enlightened conscience is in accord 
with the decision of your director, in calling you to 
Orders, you may with humble confidence assume the 

1 Acts i. 3 T. Tim. v. 22. 

2 Ibid. xiii. 4 Ps. cxlii. 10. 



MARKS OF A DIVINE VOCATION. 43 

yoke of the priesthood, and accept the announcement as 
the voice of God. You may devoutly regard as repeated 
to yourself what Christ said to His Apostles : " I have 
chosen you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and 
your fruit should remain." 

But it behooves us to remember that "we have this 
treasure (of apostolic grace) in earthen vessels, that the 
excellency may be of the power of God, and not of us." 1 
We know, alas ! too well, that the vase may be shattered, 
and the treasure may be lost. 

Every day, from the morning of our ordination, our 
watchword should be : " The night is passed, and the 
day is at hand. Let us, therefore, cast off the works of 
darkness, and put on the armor of light." 2 We should, 
in the language of St. Paul, " be renewed in the spirit 
of our mind, and put on the new man who, according to 
God, is created injustice and holiness of truth." 3 

"Neglect not," says the same Apostle, "the grace that 
is in thee, which was given thee with imposition of 
hands of the priesthood. Meditate upon these things, 
be wholly in these things, that thy profiting may be 
manifest to all." 4 

Filled with the gratitude w r hich animated the Apostle, 
we should often say: "I give Him thanks who hath 
strengthened me, even to Christ Jesus our Lord, for 
that He hath counted me faithful, putting me in the 
ministry." 5 

On being invested with the office of the ministry, you 
should mark out for yourself a practical rule of life 

1 II. Cor. iv. 7. 4 1. Tim. iv. 14, 15. 

2 Rom. xin. 12. 6 I. Tim. I. 12. 

3 Eph. iv. 23, 24. 



44 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

which ought to be neither too elastic nor too rigid. "Let 
all things be done decently, and according to order." 1 
" Order is heaven's first law." It is the economic dis- 
tributer of time, the guardian of peace and tranquillity. 

A fixed hour should be set apart, as far as possible, 
for the customary duties of each day. It is not wise to 
burden or bewilder yourself with too many religious 
exercises ; but you should endeavor to perform well those 
that a judicious director and your own conscience may 
prescribe. 

A meditation every morning, though it be brief, should 
rarely be omitted. It is a refreshing and purifying 
spiritual bath, preparing you to appear with a clean 
heart before the great King at the Sacrificial Banquet, 
and invigorating you for the work of the day. 

By the daily oblation of the Holy Sacrifice, in a spirit 
of faith and thanksgiving to the august High Priest, and 
by going " with confidence to the throne of grace, you 
will obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid." 2 

Recite the Breviary with recollection and devotion. 
Its prayers are authorized by the Church and conse- 
crated by universal usage. If said in a hasty and listless 
manner, it becomes an irksome task, instead of being a 
stimulus to piety. A story is told of two clergymen recit- 
ing the Divine Office together during a fearful thunder- 
storm. One of them, remarked to the other : " Let us 
suspend the Office and say our prayers." He did not 
advert to the fact, that the devotion in which they were 
actually engaged, was the most salutary of religious 
exercises. 

1 1. Cor. xiv. 40. 2 Heb. iv. 16. 



MARKS OF A DIVINE VOCATION. 45 

It is most profitable to spend at least fifteen or twenty- 
minutes each day in spiritual reading. The books should 
be few, but well selected. The perusal of a great variety 
of religious books is apt to dissipate the mind without 
making a deep or lasting impression. St. Francis de 
Sales happily illustrated this truth by saying that " the 
bees make less honey amid the abundance of early spring 
flowers than later on, because they delight to roam about 
amid the general abundance, and do not pause long 
enough to gather the precious juices with which they fill 
their comb." 

I would recommend The Following of Christ, The 
Spiritual Combat, The Lives of the Saints, especially of 
those who were engaged in the apostolic ministry, and 
above all, the Sacred Scriptures, which have an unction 
and authority exclusively their own. 

Devote an hour or more each day to the serious study 
of subjects connected with your state of life. 

Consecrate yourself without reserve to the work of the 
mission assigned you in all its details, fulfilling each duty, 
not with the perfunctory routine of the hireling, but with 
the diligence and zeal of a faithful steward. 

A visit every day to our Lord in the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, dissipates the worldly mist that may have enveloped 
you, and brings you nearer to the God of light. It sobers 
the senses, moderates the abnormal activity of the mind, 
calms the passions, sweetens the labors, lightens the bur- 
dens of life, and diffuses around you a spirit of heavenly 
peace and tranquillity. 

Let your night devotions always include an examina- 
tion of conscience. Of all spiritual exercises, this examen 
is, perhaps, the least agreeable, though the most profitable. 



46 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

It is worthy of remark that some of the greatest Pagan 
philosophers, such as Pythagoras, Plutarch, Seneca, and 
Epictetus, have recommended this personal scrutiny. It 
is the best means of preventing us from drifting with the 
tide, and of stimulating us to ply our oars in stemming 
the current of our own downward tendencies. 

Like a faithful steward, you should balance your 
account with your Maker every night, and study your 
profit and loss. 

Examination of conscience is the complement of the 
morning meditation. In the morning, you reflect on 
your range of duties, and resolve to acquit yourself 
faithfully of them. In the examen, you inquire whether 
and how you have discharged them. In the morning, 
you survey the field before you, and determine to advance 
with steady steps. At night, you look back, and con- 
template how much ground you have covered. Happy 
are they whose time is thus regulated. " Full days shall 
be found in them." 

After having invoked the mercy and benediction of 
your heavenly Father by fervent prayer, you can say 
with the confidence of the Psalmist : " In peace will I 
both take my rest, and sleep, for Thou, O Lord, specially 
makest me dwell in safety." l 



1 Ps. iv. 9, 10. St. Jerome's Version. 



CHAPTER IV. 

On the Duties of Preceptors toward 
their Scholars. 

PLUTARCH, in a letter to his former pupil, the 
Emperor Trajan, says : " I am sensible that you 
sought not the Empire. Your modesty, however, makes 
you still more worthy of the honors you had no ambi- 
tion to solicit. Should your future government be in 
keeping with your former merit, I shall have reason to 
congratulate both your virtue and my own good fortune 
on this great event ; but if otherwise, you have exposed 
yourself to danger and me to obloquy ; for the faults of 
the scholar will be imputed to the master. Only continue 
to be what you are. Let your government commence in 
your breast ; and lay the foundations of it in the com- 
mand of your passions. If you make virtue the rule of 
your conduct and the end of your actions, everything 
will proceed in harmony and order. I have explained 
to you the spirit of those laws and constitutions that 
were established by your predecessors, and you have 
nothing to do but to carry them into execution. If this 
should be the case, I shall have the glory of having 
formed an Emperor to virtue ; but if otherwise, let this 
letter remain a testimony to succeeding ages, that you 
did not ruin the Roman Empire under pretence of the 
counsels or the authority of Plutarch. " 

47 



48 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

From the words of Plutarch we may draw this im- 
portant lesson, that the moral precepts of the teacher will 
exercise but little influence on the scholar, unless they 
are enforced by his own example. But if his life is in 
harmony with the instructions which he inculcates, they 
will make a deep and lasting impression on the heart of 
his disciple. For if the edifying demeanor of those whom 
we casually meet in the walks of life, is a stimulus to 
virtue, how potential for good, and how enduring is the 
exemplary conduct of the professor who is the official 
guide of our susceptible youth ! 

Every one admits the truth of the Horatian axiom, 
that persons are more deeply affected by what they see 
than by what they hear. If this maxim can be affirmed 
of all men, how much more forcible is its application to 
the impressionable scholar ! 

Th? pupil's character is almost unconsciously formed 
after the model of his instructor. The impression pro- 
duced on the youthful mind, by the tutor's example, has 
been happily compared to letters cut in the bark of a 
young tree which deepen and broaden with time. 

Of our excellent teachers, we can say in the words of 
John Sterling : 

" Ever their phantoms rise before us, 
Our loftier brothers, but one in blood ; 
By bed and table they lord it o'er us, 
With looks of kindness and words of good." 

The institution in which a man studies, is supposed to 
exert so dominant an influence in moulding his character, 
that his Alma Mater is as sure to be mentioned by his 
biographer as the parents from whom he sprang. 



DUTIES OF PRECEPTORS TOWARD THEIR SCHOLARS. 49 

So dose, indeed, and tender and far-reaching are the 
relations subsisting between the teacher and his pupils, 
that the master feels honored by the virtuous and dis- 
tinguished career of his scholar, while he has a sense 
of personal humiliation, should the pupil's record prove 
dishonorable and scandalous. Harvard or Yale, Prince- 
ton or Georgetown, is eager to claim as her son the 
statesman, the jurist, or the man of letters who chanced 
to have drunk at her fountain of knowledge. Oxford 
would have gladly erected within her walls a monument 
to her peerless son, Cardinal Newman, had she not been 
thwarted by unreasoning bigotry. In like manner, our 
ecclesiastical colleges and seminaries refer with commend- 
able complacency to their alumni who have distinguished 
themselves as priests or prelates in the paths of science 
and virtue. As Cato, in his old age, pointed with pride 
to the widespreading trees that his hands had planted in 
early manhood, so will the venerable teacher contemplate 
with admiration every fresh blossom and fruit that enrich 
the living tree reared and cultivated in his nursery of 
learning. 

But while the preceptor enjoys the reflected honor that 
beams on his favored scholar, public sentiment makes 
him share, in some measure, though often unjustly, the 
odium attached to a pupil whose public life has been 
stained by unworthy conduct. The good name of Quin- 
tilian was marred by the vicious conduct of some of his 
scholars. The reputation of Seneca suffered on account 
of the crimes of Nero, his former disciple. The reproach 
seems, however, to be unmerited, for, as long as the 
young prince followed the instructions and counsels of 
his preceptor, he was loved by the Roman people ; but 
4 



50 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

when he fell into the hands of other masters, he became 
the shame of the human race. The exterior gravity and 
propriety of Seneca were a continual censure on his 
pupil's vices. 

The professors of our colleges and seminaries should 
be profoundly impressed with the dignity and grave 
responsibility of their position. They are the constituted 
guardians of their pupils in loco parentis. It should be 
their constant aim that the lustre of the jewels confided 
to their keeping be not dimmed by neglect, but that they 
reflect more and more the brightness of the Sun of Jus- 
tice. " What is more noble," says St. John Chrysostom, 
"than to form the minds of youth? He who fashions 
the morals of children, performs a task, in my judgment, 
more sublime than that of any painter or sculptor." In 
contemplating the magnificent works of art exhibited in 
the churches of Rome, we extol the great masters who 
produced them, and we know not which to admire 
more, the paintings and statues which adorn St. Peter's 
Basilica, or the temple itself in which those masterpieces 
are enshriued. But the teacher, in moulding the charac- 
ter of the youths committed to his care, is engaged in 
a pursuit far more w r orthy of our admiration. He is 
creating living portraits destined to adorn, not only our 
earthly temples, but also the temple of God in heaven 
" not made by hands." 

The professor who would aim at shaping the character 
of all his students according to one uniform ideal standard, 
would be attempting the impossible, because he would be 
striving to do what is at variance with the laws of nature 
and of nature's God. In all the Creator's works, there 
is charming variety. There are no two stars in the firma- 



DUTIES OF PRECEPTORS TOWARD THEIR SCHOLARS. 51 

ment equal in magnitude and splendor, " for star differeth 
from star in glory;" there are no two leaves of the 
forest alike, no two grains of sand, no two human faces. 
Neither can there be two men absolutely identical in 
mental capacity or moral disposition. One may excel 
in solid judgment, another in tenacity of memory, and a 
third in brilliancy of imagination. One is naturally 
grave and solemn, another is gay and vivacious. One 
is of a phlegmatic, another of a sanguine temperament. 
One is constitutionally shy, timid, and reserved; another 
is bold and demonstrative. One is taciturn, another has 
his heart in his mouth. The teacher should take his 
pupils as God made them, and aid them in bringing out 
the hidden powers of their soul. If he tries to adopt the 
levelling process by casting all in the same mould, his 
pupils will become forced and unnatural in their move- 
ments ; they will lose heart, their spirit will be broken, 
their manhood crippled and impaired. 

" I will respect human liberty," says xvlonseigneur 
Dupanloup, "in the smallest child even more scrupu- 
lously than in a grown man ; for the latter can defend 
himself against me, while the child cannot. Never shall 
I insult the child so far as to regard him as material to 
be cast into a mould, and to emerge with a stamp given 
by my will." 

Instead of laboring to crush and subdue their natural 
traits and propensities, he should rather divert them into 
a proper channel. The admonition which would be 
properly administered to a sullen or obstinate youth 
deliberately erring, might be excessive, if given to one 
of an ardent or sensitive nature acting from impulse 
or levity. 



52 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

One day, an abbot of some reputation for piety, was 
complaining to St. Ansel m about the boys who were 
being educated in the monastery. "Though we flog 
them continually," said he, "yet they become worse." 
"And," queried St. Anselm, " how do they turn out 
when grown to be young men?" "Stupid and dull," 
answered the abbot. "At that rate," exclaimed the 
saint, " the system you employ is a model one for stunt- 
ing intellectual growth. My dear abbot, suppose you 
were to plant a tree in your garden and shut it in on 
all sides so that it could not shoot forth its branches, 
what might you expect save a twisted, tangled, and 
worthless trunk? Now, by enslaving the spirit of 
children, by leaving them no liberty of action, you 
foster in them narrow, vicious, and wicked propensi- 
ties, which, growing stronger day by day, resist every 
effort to change and eradicate them. Finding, moreover, 
that you are neither kind nor amiable, they will put no 
confidence in you ; they will believe that you are moved 
by motives of dislike and envy. These inclinations 
increase with their years, and their minds and hearts 
grow bent to vice. Devoid of Christian charity, their 
views of the world and of life become utterly distorted. 
Now, tell me, were you in the place of these boys, would 
you be pleased with such treatment as you give them?" 

The abbot threw himself at the feet of St. Anselm, 
admitted his lack of tact and discretion, and promised 
amendment. 1 

Jesus Christ is the model Teacher. His conduct 
toward His disciples is the best example to be followed. 
He did not attempt to quench their natural spirit, but 

1 Kohrbacher, Vol. xiv. p. 465. 



DUTIES OF PRECEPTORS TOWARD THEIR SCHOLARS. 53 

He purified and sanctified it in the fires of Pentecost. 
After Peter had graduated in the school of his Master, 
he remained the same ardent man that he had ever been. 
His vehement energies were expended, however, not in 
defending his Saviour's Person with the material sword, 
which he had formerly used in cutting off the ear of 
Malchus, but in wielding the sword of the Spirit in the 
cause of righteousness. The sons of Zebedee were ambi- 
tious of glory. Ambition is in itself a magnanimous 
sentiment; therefore, Christ did not smother it in their 
breast, but He ennobled it by directing it to higher and 
holier ends. He taught them to aspire to a heavenly, 
instead of an earthly kingdom. 

Paul, after his conversion, retained the fiery zeal that 
had marked the youthful Pharisee, though it was now 
transformed into a zeal tempered by charity, and it found 
vent in evangelizing the world. Instead of dragging 
Christians before civil tribunals, as he was wont to do, 
we now find him arraigning Jews and Gentiles before the 
tribunal of conscience. Our Saviour did not blame Thomas 
for opening his mind and expressing his honest doubt 
upon the fact of the Resurrection ; but He gently reasoned 
with him, and removed that doubt by a palpable argu- 
ment. In the same way, should the professor study, as 
far as possible, the individual character of his pupils, and 
adapt his instructions and admonitions to the capacity 
and temperament of each. 

Regarding the discipline to be observed in our colleges 
and seminaries, the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore 
lays down the following judicious rules : " Let the dis- 
cipline for regulating the whole course of life in the 
seminary be so arranged that it may savor neither of 



54 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

excessive rigor nor indulge pernicious laxity. The vigi- 
lance of superiors should be so tempered and moderated 
in maintaining it that it will not pry too closely into 
minute details, nor so hamper the minds of youth, as it 
were with chains, as to impede the normal expansion of 
their energies." ! 

While the vigilance of superiors should be active in 
observing and prompt in correcting abuses, it should be 
entirely free from a spirit of espionage and distrust, 
which is calculated to make hypocrites, and to provoke 
the clandestine violation of rules. If the students are 
persuaded that they are habitually suspected and watched, 
they also will have their eye on their professors. They 
will take a morbid pleasure in eating the forbidden fruit, 
in drinking the "stolen waters, which are sweeter, and 
eating hidden bread, which is more pleasant." 2 Like 
those that try to avoid the Octroi in French towns, they 
will come to regard their offences as purely penal without 
any moral sanction attached to them. 

I once heard of a professor who always presupposed 
that the students were untrustworthy until they gave 
proof of virtue. The opposite rule, which assumes that 
they are good until their vicious character is made mani- 
fest, is, certainly, to be preferred. A gentleman once 
informed me that the principal of the academy in Europe 
in which he had made his studies, had an observatory, 
from which he could view the boys in their respective 
rooms, and take note of any misdemeanor they might 
commit. 

All right-minded men will agree that it is far better 
that youths should be religiously impressed with a sense 

1 III. Plen. Council, No. 158. 2 Prov. ix. 17. 



DUTIES OF PRECEPTORS TOWARD THEIR SCHOLARS. 55 

of God's presence, that their enlightened conscience should 
be their monitor, and that the Faculty should appeal to 
their moral rectitude and honor rather than to their sense 
of fear. 

This generous confidence in the student's honor is cal- 
culated to develop a higher and nobler type of manhood, 
and to fit young men for the great world in which they 
will have no preceptors to admonish them, and in which 
their conscience will be their chief and often their only 
guide. And besides, wherever this method of govern- 
ment obtains, whatever chastisement may be inflicted on 
the transgressor in vindication of the law, will be sanc- 
tioned and applauded by the students themselves; for 
they feel that any grave violation of college discipline 
affects their personal honor and good name. I am happy 
to say that this system prevails in all the institutions of 
learning with which I am acquainted. 

St. Augustine in his Confessions, complains of the 
excessive harshness and severity of some teachers of his 
time. They multiply, he says, the labors and sorrows 
through which the sons of Adam are obliged to pass. 
Youth are better governed by motives of love and filial 
reverence than by servile fear, and their tasks are more 
diligently learned when enjoined by principles of duty, 
than when enforced by threats of punishment ; for " no 
one," he adds, " doth ever well what he doth against his 
will, even though what he doth, be well." 1 

The mode of punishment inflicted on refractory sub- 
jects has varied according to the popular sentiment pre- 
vailing at different times and in different countries. We 
are told in the Life of Plutarch that corporal chastisement 

1 Book i. Ch. xii. 



5G THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

was not tolerated in the school which he frequented in 
Greece. This authority was exercised only by parents. 
" The office of the teacher was to inform the mind. He 
had no power to extinguish the flame of freedom, or 
break down the noble independence of the soul by the 
degrading application of the rod." Plutarch informs us 
of a novel and ingenious method employed by his pre- 
ceptor Ammonius in correcting his pupils : " Our master/' 
he says, " having one day observed that we had indulged 
too freely at dinner, ordered his freed man, during his 
afternoon lecture, to give his own son the discipline of 
the whip in our presence. The philosopher all the while 
had his eye upon us, and we knew well for whom the 
example of punishment was intended." Our American 
youth would, I presume, submit with patient resignation 
to this vicarious sort of punishment, for it is easy to bear 
the misfortunes of others. 

The experience of General Sheridan's school-days was 
not so agreeable. His teacher had less scruple than 
Ammonius about corporal punishment. He tells us in 
his Personal Memoirs that, when a youth, he attended a 
private school in Ohio. Whenever any one of the boys 
committed a serious breach of discipline, if the teacher 
was unable to detect the culprit, as was usually the case, 
" he would consistently apply the switch to the whole 
school without discrimination." It must be conceded 
that by this means he never failed to catch the real 
mischief-maker. 

So great an authority as Dr. Johnson advocates moder- 
ate corporal punishment as an efficient means for curbing 
perverse and refractory spirits. 



BTJTrES OF PRECEPTORS TOWAI.i) THEIR SCHOLARS. 57 

The ancient Lacedaemonian father was accustomed to 
inflict a second punishment on his son who complained 
of being chastised; for, he held, that "he who would take 
the trouble to correct the son, showed thereby his affection 
for the father." l 

But the spirit of this country seems to be growing 
more and more averse to the application of the rod. I 
am persuaded that neither the authority of the sturdy 
Dr. Johnson nor the example of the Lacedaemonians will 
have any effect in supplanting the milder regime now in 
force in our educational institutions, especially in our 
Catholic colleges and seminaries; for while American 
fathers admit the wisdom of Solomon's maxim: "He 
that spareth the rod, hateth his son," 2 they are reluctant 
to delegate to others their paternal prerogative. 

It will be generally admitted, in conclusion, that he is 
a model disciplinarian who combines the paternal and 
maternal attributes in his relations to his pupils. While 
he is always expected to maintain the authority of a 
father, he should exhibit in a more marked degree, the 
affection and tenderness of a mother ; for he who gains 
our heart, easily commands the attention of our mind. 



1 Cornelius a Lapide in Prov. xrir. 2 Prov. xrn. 24. 



CHAPTER V. 

Duties of Scholars toward their Preceptor. 

Gratitude. 

IT was only after some hesitation and misgiving that I 
ventured, in the foregoing chapter, to make a few 
suggestions to teachers; for our honored superiors and 
professors have the grace of their vocation, and, in the 
exercise of their noble profession, they have an experience 
to which the writer can lay no claim. 

The more grateful task now devolves on me of pointing 
out to our young students, and particularly to the aspirants 
to the sacred ministry, the duties which they owe to their 
superiors and teachers. These duties may be summed up 
in three words, gratitude, reverence, and obedience, which 
shall be treated in three separate chapters. 

Next to the blessing that a youth enjoys of possessing 
virtuous parents, is the advantage of being trained by 
teachers conspicuous for enlightenment, rectitude of heart, 
and zeal in the discharge of their sublime office; for the 
education he receives, exerts a dominant influence in form- 
ing his character and in outlining his future career in life. 

Plato was accustomed to give thanks to the Deity for 
two signal favors: first, that he was born and reared 
in a country so refined and civilized as Greece; secondly, 
that he had Socrates for his teacher. Our alumni should 
be still more grateful to God that their Hues are cast in 
58 



DUTIES OF SCHOLARS TOWARD THEIR PRECEPTORS. 59 

America, that they are destined to announce the Gospel 
in a country in which they enjoy the blessing of civil and 
religious liberty, and that they are instructed by teachers 
who are the disciples of " Christ, the power of God and the 
wisdom of God" * whose doctrine surpasses that of Socrates 
in wisdom as much as the sun exceeds the moon in splendor. 

The serenity of mind, the composure of countenance, the 
calm deliberation in all his movements that marked the 
character of Pericles, are gratefully ascribed by him to the 
lessons and influence of his teacher, Anaxagoras. 

The greatest philosopher of antiquity was the chosen 
teacher of the greatest of ancient generals. Aristotle was 
selected by Philip, King of Macedon, as the preceptor of 
his son, the future Alexander the Great. Philip mani- 
fested in many ways his esteem for his son's teacher. He 
rebuilt the city of Stagira, in which Aristotle was born, 
and repeopled it with the inhabitants who had fled from 
it when it was destroyed. Alexander used to declare that 
his love for his tutor was equal to the affection that he 
bore his father, for be observed, "If I have received life 
from the one, the other has taught me how to live well." 
After his Persian conquest, he presented his master with 
eight hundred talents, amounting to almost a million of 
dollars. 

The Emperor Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations, 
avows with gratitude his indebtedness to his parents and 
preceptors : " From the reputation and remembrance of 
my father," he says, " I learned modesty and a manly 
character ; 

" From my mother, piety and beneficence and abstinence 
not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts. 

1 1. Cor. i. 24. 



60 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

" From my governors, I learned endurance of labor 
and to be content with little, to work with my own hands, 
not to meddle with other people's affairs, and not to be 
ready to listen to slander. I learned, also, freedom of will 
and undeviating steadiness of purpose, to look to nothing 
else except to reason, and to be always the same in sharp 
pains and in long illness/' 

Cicero manifests his gratitude for his preceptor, Aulus 
Licinius Archias, by the immortal oration which he pro- 
nounced in his defence in Rome. In his exordium he thus 
expresses his indebtedness to his teacher : " If, my lords, 
1 am possessed of any ability, meagre as I am aware mine 
is ; if I can boast of any practice in public speaking, an 
art to which I allow I have devoted no small degree of 
attention ; if I can lay claim to any acquaintance with the 
theory of oratory, the result of education in the fine arts, 
a study to which at every period of my life I have been 
devoted, the defendant here to-day, Aulus Licinius, has 
the right to demand of me the fruit of all these acquire- 
ments. For as far as my recollection can recall the past 
and bring back the earliest memories of my boyhood days, 
I recognize that this gentleman has always had the chief 
share in urging me to enter upon this line of study and 
to persevere in it. If, then, I have been able to defend 
some and save others by this voice which his counsel and 
direction contributed to perfect, I certainly am obliged, as 
far as I can, to lend its aid to the one from whom I enjoy 
that power to defend and to save." 

Alcuin, the preceptor of Charlemagne and of his royal 
sons, was tenderly loved by that illustrious prince, who 
mourned the death of the English scholar as that of a 
friend and master. He wrote his eulogy in some Latin 



DUTIES OF SCHOLARS TOWARD THEIR PRECEPTORS. 61 

verses which, if not distinguished for poetical merit, at 
least do justice to the honest affection that dictated them. 1 

These examples, taken with one exception from heathen 
sources, may suffice to show that gratitude is a character- 
istic trait of ingenuous souls. The absence of this virtue 
is a mark of an ignoble nature. Now, to whom after his 
parents is the youth more indebted than to the devoted 
teacher who has guided his steps through the paths of 
science and virtue, and whose divining rod has caused 
those hidden springs to gush forth that have been through 
life an unfailing refreshment to his spirit? By no amount 
of pecuniary compensation can he adequately requite his 
teachers for the pleasures of the intellect, the imagination, 
and the memory which he will enjoy in after years. 
Material food satiates once it is consumed ; the intellectual 
banquet is a perennial joy to the soul. 

" These studies give strength in youth and joy in old 
age. They adorn prosperity and are the support and con- 
solation of adversity. At home they are delightful, and 
abroad they are easy. At night they are company to us, 
When we travel, they attend us, and in our rural retire- 
ment they do not forsake us." 2 

After students have drunk deep at the fountain of 
knowledge, and when their mind has been matured by 
age and intercourse with men, their admiration for their 
teacher's learning may become somewhat tempered. They 
may not fully share in the enthusiasm which the " gazing 

*" Christian Schools and Scholars," Vol. i. f**f* /// 
2 Haec studia adolescentiam alunt, senectuteni Obleetant, secimdas 
res ornant, adversis perfugium, ac solatium praebent, delectant domi, 
non impediunt foris, peraoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur." 
Cicero, pro Archia. 



62 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

rustics" of Goldsmith's Deserted Village had for their 
pedagogue : 

" And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, 
That one small head could carry all he knew — " 

but their gratitude for their teacher's self-sacrifice, for- 
bearance, and kind indulgence grows with their growth 
and ripens with their years. Some of them may have 
forgotten or neglected the instructions imparted to them, 
but the image of their guide, philosopher, and friend is 
indelibly stamped on their heart and memory. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Reverence for Teachers. 

FILIAL reverence for superiors and professors is 
another duty incumbent on students. It is a char- 
acteristic of manhood's noblest types. If the Scripture 
declares that the priests are deserving of double honor 
who worthily rule the flock/ surely, not less honor should 
be claimed for the professors who are the guides of the 
future shepherds themselves. This reverence will be all 
the more grateful to the Faculty, if, instead of savoring 
of diffidence or degenerating into servile fear, it springs 
from a genuine affection and confidence. One of the 
most acceptable ways in which the pupil can evince his 
respect for his teachers, is by a composed demeanor and 
close attention during lecture hours. 

Plutarch gives a memorable instance of the courteous 
attention and graceful compliment paid him while lect- 
uring in Rome. Among his hearers was Arulenus 
Rusticus, one of the most conspicuous citizens of Rome, 
distinguished as well by the lustre of his family as by an 
honorable ambition and glorious career, and honored with 
the friendship of the Emperor. " It once happened/' 
says he, "that when I was speaking in public in Rome, 
Arulenus Rusticus was one of my hearers. When in the 

l I. Tim. v. 17. 

63 



64 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

middle of my discourse, a soldier came in and handed him 
a letter from the Emperor. Upon this there was a general 
silence throughout the audience, and I paused to give him 
time to peruse the letter. But he would not suffer it, nor 
did he open the letter till I had finished my lecture and 
the audience was dispersed." l 

If this eminent citizen of Pagan Rome showed courtesy 
so marked to Plutarch, surely, Christian students should 
not exhibit less respect for their teacher while addressing 
them. He prepares his lecture with scrupulous diligence. 
He covets no applause from the outside world. His words 
will not be heard beyond the walls of his class-room. 
His only ambition is to enlighten the disciples seated 
before him, and his greatest delight and reward are to 
command their undivided attention ; while on the other 
hand, though he may repress his feelings, he cannot but 
be keenly and painfully sensitive to any levity or listless- 
ness of manner betrayed by his audience. 

This reverence, however, is perfectly compatible with 
the right and even with the duty which the student pos- 
sesses of thinking for himself, of weighing the professor's 
arguments, of suspending his judgment till his doubt or 
difficulty is removed, and even of dissenting from them, 
if they do not accord with his conviction ; for the Hora- 
tian dictum, " Nuttius addietus jurare in verba magistri" 
applies to the students of young America, as well as to 
those of ancient Rome. The scholar that accepts every 
ipse dixit of his professor without subjecting it to the 
light of his own intelligence, will load his memory at 
the expense of his judgment. He may become a ready 
speaker, but he will hardly ever be a strong and clear 

1 Life of Plutarch; Preface. 



REVERENCE FOR TEACHERS. 65 

thinker. The knowledge acquired by the pupil is propor- 
tioned to what he takes in, not to what the teacher gives 
out. It is only the quantity assimilated of intellectual, 
as well as material food, that imparts nourishment. 

" A man," says Cardinal Newman, " may hear a thou- 
sand lectures and read a thousand volumes, and be at the 
end of the process very much where he was as regards 
knowledge. Something more than merely admitting it 
in a negative way into the mind, is necessary, if it is to 
remain there. It must not be passively received, but 
actually and actively entered into, embraced, mastered. 
The mind must go half-way to meet what comes into it 
from without." l 

" Books/' says Frederic Harrison, " are no more educa- 
tion, than laws are virtue." A student may be "deep- 
versed in books, and shallow in himself." 2 

The attendance at lectures will not make him a whit 
more learned, unless he appropriates and digests the 
mental food imparted, just as the best book in morals 
will not advance him a step in rectitude of conduct, 
unless his heart is in the work he reads. 

If custom allows, the alumnus may submit his doubts 
or objections to the professor during class. Otherwise, 
he should not hesitate to do so when the lecture is over. 
So far from regarding his visit as an intrusion, the teacher 
will esteem it a mark of confidence to have difficulties 
presented to him, and he will take pleasure in endeavoring 
to solve them. 

The conduct of the Incarnate Wisdom in the Temple 
when a vouth of twelve years, is the best reverential model 

1 Idea of a University. z Choice of Books. 

5 



66 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

for an ingenuous pupil to follow. He sat among the 
doctors in a lower place, as became a disciple. He 
listened to them with respectful submission. He ques- 
tioned them without being arrogant or disputatious, and 
he excited their admiration by the modesty and wisdom 
of his answers. 

St. Thomas Aquinas, while pursuing his studies in 
Paris, gave an edifying proof of his humility and rever- 
ence for his superiors. One day, while reading in the 
refectory, he was corrected by the director regarding the 
pronunciation of a word. He bowed to the correction, 
though he knew that his own pronunciation was the true 
one, and that his master was at fault. When told by his 
companions that he should have publicly justified himself, 
he replied: "It matters not how a word is pronounced, 
but to practise on all occasions reverential submission is of 
the greatest importance." 

A similar anecdote is related of Lanfranc, afterward 
Archbishop of Canterbury. Once, when reading in pres- 
ence of the Community, the Prior corrected his Latin 
accent, and desired him to pronounce the e in docere 
short. Lanfranc complied without hesitation, and his 
docile acquiescence in the superior's erroneous correction 
was all the more worthy of admiration, as he had already 
acquired great reputation for learning. I am persuaded 
that these two superiors would not have taken it amiss, 
but would have been edified, had the Angel of the Schools 
and the future Archbishop of Canterbury privately called 
and represented themselves to be in the right. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Obedience to Teachers; Observance op Rules. 

OBEDIENCE to superiors and the observance of 
college laws are indispensable to the discipline of 
the house. College and seminary rules serve a double 
purpose ; they contribute to the good order of the com- 
munity, and they indoctrinate the students in the virtue 
of obedience and in systematic habits, on which the fruit 
of their future ministry so much depends. 

"Order is heaven's first law; and, this confest, 
Some are and must be greater than the rest." 

Now, there can be no order in the soul or in the family, 
in the State or in the Church, unless there exist a recog- 
nized authority on the one hand, to enforce the law, and 
on the other, subjects to obey it. In the kingdom of the 
soul, all the faculties and animal appetites must be under 
the dominion of reason. In the government of the family, 
the father commands ; the children and the other members 
of the household obey. In the national Republic, the 
civil magistrates have the divinely-constituted right to 
maintain the laws which the citizens are bound to observe. 
In the Commonwealth of the Church, the spiritual rulers 
are invested with power, and the faithful are subject to 
them in matters appertaining to the kingdom of heaven. 
Even in the planetary system, are found marvellous order 

67 



68 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

and harmony, the result of the laws that govern the 
planets. They all move within their respective orbits, 
they do not deviate from their normal course, they do 
not clash nor collide with one another, and they are all 
controlled by one central sun. 

In like manner, in the college community there must 
co-exist the three elements of government — law, authority, 
and obedience. Wherever the wise rules of a seminary 
are observed, there is found the reign of law ; while the 
flagrant and frequent violation of them would lead to 
anarchy and rebellion. 

College discipline and the arrangement of hours for 
the various exercises of the day, are not capriciously 
made ; they are the result of observation and the experi- 
ence of ages. 

The pleasing variety of the daily duties, the judicious 
succession of prayer, study, and recreation, like the alter- 
nate succession of day and night and of the seasons, relieve 
the monotony and dispel the tedium of college life. They 
give a new zest to each recurring duty, so that the days 
and weeks glide away almost imperceptibly ; and the 
good order that prevails in the house is the reflection of 
the quiet and tranquillity that reign in every heart. 

If, on the contrary, you desire to know the wretched- 
ness and emptiness of a life without rule or obedience, 
you have only to consult a man who has no object 
to live for, who has no law to observe save his own 
whims and caprices, no superior to obey but his own 
will, no work to perform but what his own fancy 
may dictate. You will find that to such a man, life 
becomes an intolerable burden. His soul is a u land of 
misery and darkness, where the shadow of death, and no 



OBEDIENCE TO TEACHERS— OBSERVANCE OP RULES. 69 

order, but everlasting horror dwelleth." 1 St. Bernard 
says that " he who is his own master, is the disciple 
of a fool." 

While faithfully observing the seminary regime, the 
student enjoys not only the present blessing of interior 
peace, but also the prospective advantage of a well- 
ordered mind. Indeed, the spirit of discipline acquired 
during the course of studies, may be regarded as one of 
the most essential elements in ecclesiastical training. The 
habitual compliance with the rules of the institution, 
quickens his attention, strengthens his will, invigorates 
the energies of his soul, gives him decision of character, 
makes him prompt in responding to the call of duty, 
impels him by force of habit to sacrifice personal comfort 
to his legitimate obligations, endows him with docility 
and elasticity of mind, and renders him a well-equipped 
soldier of Christ. 

The custom of rising promptly at the sound of the 
bell, of repairing to the prayer-hall and to the chapel, 
the refectory and the class-room, will afterward enable 
him with ease to be punctual at the altar, alert in attend- 
ing sick-calls and in performing the other functions of 
the ministry. A cheerful and steadfast obedience to his 
superiors will fortify him to fulfil the solemn promise of 
reverence and obedience which he makes to the Pontiff 
at the foot of the altar, on the day of his ordination. He 
will realize the force of the prophet's words : " It is good 
for a man, when he hath borne the yoke from his youth. " 

I have seen that noblest of domestic animals, the horse, 
at the click of the electric alarm-bell, instantly rush from 
his half-devoured meal and submit to be harnessed and 

Uobx. 22. 



70 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

driven to the scene of a conflagration. Now man, like 
the lower animals, is in great measure the creature of 
habit. He responds without effort and almost instinc- 
tively in mature years to the calls of duty to which he 
was inured from his youth. 

By making the daily rounds of the seminary exercises, 
the young levite is unconsciously preparing himself for 
the battle of ministerial life, just as the recruit is schooled 
for stern warfare by his peaceful military evolutions. 

It cannot, indeed, be denied that during our late war, 
the volunteer officers, who had not received a regular 
military training, gave signal proofs of valor, skill, and 
efficiency. But at the same time, it is conceded that the 
regular officers^who had enjoyed the advantage of a mili- 
tary education at West Point or elsewhere, were better 
instructed in the art of war, were more relied on, and 
more successful in a critical campaign. Discipline told 
in their favor. And it has been well remarked that our 
raw volunteer soldiers rapidly became a splendid army 
just because of the large number of West Pointers com- 
manding on both sides. 

At the beginning of the war, in 1861, several volunteer 
colonels met near Quincy, 111., to select a brigadier com- 
mander from their number. Col. U. S. Grant, who hap- 
pened to be in the neighborhood with his regiment, was 
unanimously chosen because a West Pointer, although all 
the citizen-colonels outranked him — an evidence that the 
superiority of the regular officers was gracefully recog- 
nized by the volunteers themselves. 1 

The Grants, Shermans, Sheridans, and Thomases, on 
the Federal side; the Lees, Stonewall Jacksons, Long- 



i u 



Ohio in the War," Whitelaw Reid. 



OBEDIENCE TO TEACHERS — OBSERVANCE OF RULES. 71 

streets, and Beau regards, on the Confederate side, shine 
forth as the most conspicuous figures and the most 
formidable generals of the war. 

In like manner, heroic priests are found up and down 
the country, who, though deprived by circumstances of 
the benefit of an extended ecclesiastical discipline, are 
yet laboring fruitfully in the service of God. But it 
must be admitted that the great bulk of our most suc- 
cessful apostolic leaders, have, like the Apostles them- 
selves, been qualified for their work by spending a series 
of years of rigid discipline in the school of Christ. 

But you will say : Is it not a hard penance for one to 
submit to a strict rule of life, and to be subject to the 
will of another? Yes; and for this reason obedience is 
accounted among the most heroic and sublime virtues, 
being superior to voluntary poverty and to continence. 
By voluntary poverty, a man tramples on earthly goods ; 
by continence, he controls the flesh ; by obedience, he 
conquers his will. 

Carlyle inveighs in his usual energetic style against 
the modern vice of lawless independence : " What is the 
universally arrogated virtue of these days? For some 
half century it has been the thing you name, 'Independ- 
ence.'' Suspicion of i servility, y of reverence for superiors, 
the very dogleech is anxious to disavow. Fools ! Were 
your superiors worthy to govern, and you worthy to 
obey, reverence for them were even your only possible 
freedom. Independence in all kinds, is rebellion, if un- 
just rebellion, why parade it, and every where prescribe?" l 

But it is by this heroic self-sacrifice that he purchases 
freedom of soul. It is by passing through the novitiate 

1 Sartor Resartus. 



72 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of obedience and discipline, that the disciple of Christ is 
elevated to the glorious liberty of the sou of God. He 
becomes master of his passions and inclinations, and makes 
them subservient to the law of reason. "An obedient 
man shall speak of victory/' l 

Every right-minded priest, now engaged in the min- 
istry, will acknowledge that lie possesses more freedom 
of soul and contentment of mind in the mission to which 
he was called by legitimate authority, than he would have 
enjoyed in a more desirable charge, had he compassed it 
by intrigue, influence, or importunity ; for he has the tes- 
timony of his conscience that he is at the post assigned 
him by God. 

It is related of the Duke of Wellington, that when a 
certain chaplain asked him whether he should preach the 
Gospel to the Hindoos, the disciplined soldier said to 
him : " What are your marching orders? " The chaplain 
replied : " Go ye unto all the world, and preach the 
Gospel to every creature." "Then follow your orders," 
said the Duke ; " your duty is to obey." 

The words of a great general may be appropriately 
quoted on this subject : " In positions of great responsi- 
bility, every one should do his duty, to the best of his 
ability, where assigned by competent authority, without 
application or the use of influence to change his position. 
I would cut my right arm oif rather than make applica- 
tion to be removed to another command. If I had sought 
the place, or obtained it through personal or political 
influence, my belief is that I should have feared to 
undertake any plan of my own conception, and should 

1 Prov. xxi. 28. 



OBEDIENCE TO TEACHERS — OBSERVANCE OF RULES. 7o 



probably have awaited direct orders from my distant 
superiors." l 

Does not the history of mankind attest that all men 
who have been fired with the ambition of gaining eon- 
quests in the field of glory, or in that of literature, have 
voluntarily subjected themselves to a life of self-denial ? 

"The youth who in the foot-race burns to win, 
Must do and suffer much ere he begin, 
Sweat himself down, bear cold and toil and pain, 
And from the lures of love and wine abstain. 
At Pythian games no piper ever played 
But teacher had, and was of him afraid." 2 

St. Paul, referring to those who contended at the games 
which were celebrated at Corinth, says : " Every one that 
striveth for the mastery refraineth himself from all things : 
and they indeed that they may receive a perishable crown, 
but we an imperishable." 3 

I have before me the " Regulations for the United 
States Military Academy at West Point," and those for 
the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, and I 
have, also, conferred with leading Army and Navy Com- 
manders regarding the discipline in those two Institu- 
tions. The following table exhibits the daily routine in 
the Naval Academy : 

1 Personal Memoirs of Gen. Grant, Vol. i, pp. 459-60. 

2 " Qui studet optatam cursu contingere metam, 
Multa tulit fecitque puer, sudavit et alsit, 
Abstinuit venere et vino. Qui Pythia cantat 
Tibicen, didicit prius, extimuitque magistrum." 

Horace, Ars Poetica. 
3 1. Cor. ix. 25. 



74 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Morning gun-fire and reveille 6 a. m. 

Morning roll-call. 6.50 a. m. 

Breakfast immediately after roll-call ,7 a. m. 

Prayers immediately after breakfast 

Call to rooms and first forenoon recitation 7.55 a. m. 

Call to second forenoon recitation 9 a. m. 

Call to third forenoon recitation..... 10.20a. m. 

Call to fourth forenoon recitation 11.25 a. m. 

Recall from recitations and release from rooms... 12.35 p. m. 

Dinner 1 p. m. 

First afternoon recitation 1.50 p. m. 

Second afternoon recitation 2.55 p. m. 

Call to afternoon exercise and drills 4.05 p m. 

Evening roll-call 6.30 p. m. 

Supper immediately after roll-call 

Call to rooms 7.25 p. m. 

Evening gun-fire, tattoo, and release from rooms..9.30 p. m. 

Warning-roll 9.55 p. m. 

Taps 10 p. m. 

The daily exercises at West Point are substantially the 
same as those at Annapolis. After a careful comparison 
of the rules observed at West Point with those of our 
seminaries, it can be safely asserted that the discipline 
is far more severe in the military academy than in our 
ecclesiastical institutions. 

The exercises at West Point are more numerous ; the 
orders are more minute, detailed, and searching; the 
restraints on personal liberty more continuous and unre- 
lenting ; the strain on the mental and physical energies 
is more trying; the sanctions appended to the law are 
more solemn, and greater penalties are attached to its 
violation ; more publicity is given to personal faults, for 
delinquencies are read in public; and there is a closer 
inspection of rooms with a view to order and cleanliness. 
Exemptions and dispensations from duty are rarer. There 



OBEDIENCE TO TEACHERS — OBSERVANCE OF RULES. 75 

is less familiarity between the officers and the cadets; 
more external marks of respect are required of the students 
toward their superiors and professors, the examinations 
are more rigorous, the recreations fewer. The vaca- 
tion, also, is shorter at West Point than in ecclesiasti- 
cal colleges, for only one vacation of two months ana 
a half is allowed during the term of four years. All 
games of chance and the use of tobacco in any snape 
are forbidden. 

Some years ago a venerable clergyman, who had served 
as chaplain in a Western fort, remarked to me : " If a 
man wants to know what absolute obedience is, let him 
serve for a week under a sergeant. He will issue me 
most peremptory and irritating orders without deigning 
an explanation. If you venture to ask for a reason, ne 
will say to you with Sir John Falstaff : " If reasons were 
as plenty as blackberries, I will give no man a reason 
upon compulsion." 

Now, if our West Point and Annapolis cadets subject 
themselves to so rigid a discipline, in the hope of being 
enrolled among their country's defenders, surely the young 
soldier of Christ should not be less generous in cheerfully 
submitting to the salutary yoke of the seminary, especially 
as he is the disciple of Him whose watch-word is self- 
denial, and whose standard is the Cross. 

They who are able to compare seminary life as found 
to-day in the United States, and as it existed forty years 
ago, cannot fail to observe that, while the discipline is 
maintained in healthy vigor, much more provision is now 
made for the comfort of the student than at that period. 
I do not know whether or how far this change has con- 
duced to the physical strength and manhood of the alumni. 



76 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

At all events, I am persuaded that they would be more 
than reconciled to their situation if they had a trial of 
some of the seminaries that I have visited in Continental 
Europe. 

In February, 1887, His Eminence Cardinal Taschereau 
and myself dined together in one of the great seminaries 
of Paris. The floor of the refectory was paved with 
brick. There was neither fire nor fire-place. The day 
was intensely cold even for the season, and, though 
clothed in a heavy cassock and overcoat, we sat shivering. 
After dinner the seminarians took their recreation on the 
grounds without overcoats, several of them bare-headed. 
But this is the material out of which the Apostles of the 
Foreign Missions are made. 

There is another circumstance that should stimulate 
the students to the observance of college rules, and 
that is, the personal example of the superiors and pro- 
fessors. They do not say to the young recruits: "Go" 
but they say : "Follow us" They are always at the 
head of the column, leading on their little army. They 
do not shrink from the post of duty. They do not 
exempt themselves on the plea of age, nor of their sacred 
character, nor of their privilege as directors; but they 
attend the various exercises of the house, as far as prac- 
ticable, from morning till night. They impose on them- 
selves a double obligation, namely, the duty of guiding 
and directing as superiors, and that of obeying like the 
rank and file. 

Let us not then, entertain for a moment the fallacious 
notion that there is anything degrading or slavish in 
obedience. It is, on the contrary, a most rational duty. 
No man nor aggregation of men has any inborn rights 



OBEDIENCE TO TEACHERS — -OBSERVANCE OF RULES. 77 

over another. Neither professor nor superior, neither 
bishop nor civil magistrate nor Pope has any inherent 
or self-constituted power to command another. In exer- 
cising authority they are the representatives of God by 
whom " Kings reign and law-givers decree just things." 
What our Saviour said to Pilate, is applicable to all 
temporal and spiritual rulers : " Thou shouldst not have 
any power, unless it were given thee from above." x 

Hence, obedience is not an act of servility paid to man, 
but an act of homage paid to God. This circumstance 
ennobles the virtue of obedience and invests it with a 
dignity becoming the sons of God. 

Our Saviour has added fresh lustre and nobility to 
those virtues which He practised on earth. Now, there 
is no virtue which shines more conspicuously in His life, 
than that of obedience : " I came down from heaven," 
He says, " not to do My own will, but the will of Him 
that sent Me." 2 " My food is to do the will of Him that 
sent Me, that I may perfect His work." 3 Pie subjected 
Himself to His own creatures, because He looked on 
them as His Father's representatives. Nay " He became 
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross," recog- 
nizing in Caiaphas, Pilate, and the Roman soldiery, the 
instruments of God in the humiliations He underwent: 
" the chalice which My Father hath given Me, shall I 
not drink it?" 4 

The great Apostle of the Gentiles was ordered by Christ 
Himself to go to Ananias and to become his disciple, 
although the disciple was far more favored than his 
master both by natural acquirements and heavenly illumi- 

! . John xix. 11. 3 Ibid. iv. 34. 

2 Ibid. vi. 38. - Ibid. xvm. 1L 



78 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

nations. Indeed the name of Ananias would never have 
come down to us, were it not for his relations with his 
illustrious pupil. 

With how much more alacrity, then, should not the 
ingenuous scholar defer to his teachers, since he will have 
the candor to avow that they usually excel him in virtue 
as well as in knowledge ? 

St. Peter was placed over his apostolic brethren as 
their superior, though he had sinned more grievously 
than his colleagues. We never heard of the other Apos- 
tles reproaching him for his denial of his Master, still less 
of refusing to obey him on account of his transgression. 

If any real or supposed maladministration should exist 
in the college ; if there is any abuse of power, or exces- 
sive severity of discipline, or any grounds of complaint 
on account of a defect in the quantity or the quality of 
the food, there are two ways for redressing these and 
other such grievances. 

The reprehensible method consists in cabals and secret 
complaints, in repinings and murmurings, which spread 
discontent, and cast an air of gloom over the community, 
and which sometimes break out in open rebellion against 
the authorities. This course, while subversive of disci- 
pline, checks no evil, and effects no reformation. 

The rational, straightforward and honorable steps to 
take for the correction of any alleged abuse, are to make a 
respectful representation to the superior of the house, who 
will not fail to investigate the cause of dissatisfaction, and, 
if well grounded, to supply a remedy ; for, no conscien- 
tious principal can feel happy while his students are dis- 
contented. He shares their sorrow as the head shares the 
pain of a suffering member in the human body, and his 



OBEDIENCE TO TEACHERS — OBSERVANCE OF RULES. 79 

greatest source of joy is the sunshine reflected from the 
youthful hearts under his charge. 

When Samuel J. Randall was Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, he was frequently annoyed and inter- 
rupted, by a member who profited by every occasion to 
dissent from his rulings. One day, in a full House, the 
Speaker withdrew, and requested the obnoxious congress- 
man to occupy the chair in his absence. Very soon the 
House was in an uproar, confusion reigned supreme, the 
temporary chairman lost his head, and it was only after 
the Speaker was sent for and resumed the chair, that 
order was restored. The carping statesman was warned 
by his humiliating experience, to exercise afterward more 
discretion in questioning the decisions of the Speaker. 

The disposition to criticise the conduct and administra- 
tion of superiors would be moderated in tone, and would 
be rendered less frequent by reflecting that to the Faculty, 
and not to the subordinates is given the grace of ruling 
well ; that the removal of an occasion of complaint some- 
times involves the sacrifice of a greater good ; that in the 
human breast there lurks a perverse tendency to censure 
those who, by their official position, are exposed to public 
view; that we are all more prone to discover faults than 
to recognize points of excellence ; and that submission to 
the yoke of discipline is not congenial to the natural man, 
but always demands a generous self-sacrifice. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Truth and Sincerity of Character. 

THERE are certain natural virtues which our young 
men are habitually called upon to exercise in their 
relations with one another as students during their aca- 
demic career, and afterward as citizens and priests in 
their intercourse with their fellow-beings in the world. 
Among these virtues, I shall single out three, because 
being leading and fundamental, they have a dominant 
influence on the others. These virtues are, Truth, Self- 
respect, and Fraternal Charity. They will be treated in 
the four following chapters. 

The highest compliment that can be bestowed on a man 
is, to say of him that he is a man of his word; and the 
greatest reproach that can be cast on an individual is, to 
assert that he has no regard for the virtue of veracity. 
Truth is the golden coin with God's image stamped 
upon it, that circulates among men of all nations and 
tribes and peoples and tongues; its standard value never 
changes nor depreciates. 

11 Truth has such a face and such a mien, 
As to be loved, needs only to be seen." 

Like all valuable commodities, truth is often counter- 
feited, it* it is a crime to counterfeit money, it is a 

80 



TRUTH AND SINCERITY OF CHARACTER. 81 

greater crime to adulterate virtue. The more precious 
the genuine coin, the more criminal and dangerous is the 
spurious imitation; and as truth is more valuable than 
specie, its base resemblance is more iniquitous and de- 
testable : " Corruptio optimi pessima" 

As truth is the medium of social and commercial inter- 
course, so high is the value which civilized society sets upon 
it that, for its own protection, it metes out the severest 
punishment to any one who violates it in commercial 
transactions. Some time ago, a citizen, who had boasted 
of owning more property than any other person in the 
neighborhood of a large city, was afterward sent to the 
penitentiary for telling a lie on a scrap of paper, or for 
forging another man's name on a note. 

If it is a sin to prevaricate in business transactions, 
how much more grievous is the offence to lie in religious 
matters ! Ananias and Saphira were suddenly struck dead 
at the Apostle's feet, because they had made a false return 
of the price of their farm. Their transgression did not 
consist in giving the Apostle only a part of the price of 
the land they sold, for he declared that, as it was a free 
gift, they were at liberty to do what they pleased with it. 
But they siuned by telling a deliberate lie about it. 1 

The virtue of veracity is so indispensable an element 
in the composition of a Christian gentlemen, that neither 
splendid talents, nor engaging manners, nor benevolence 
of disposition, nor self-denial, nor all these qualities com- 
bined, nor even the practice of religious exercises, can 
atone for its absence. They all become vitiated, they lose 
their savor, if the salt of truth and sincerity is wanting. 

1 Acts v. 
6 



82 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

The vice of lying and hypocrisy is so odious and re- 
pulsive that it is obliged to hide its deformity, and clothe 
itself in the garment of truth. 

While we feel at our ease and are disposed to be open 
and communicative in the presence of an upright and 
candid man, we are instinctively reserved and guarded 
before a deceitful person. He diffuses around him an 
atmosphere of distrust, and we shun him as we would 
a poisonous reptile. " There is no vice/' says Bacon, 
" that so covereth a man with shame as to be false and 
perfidious." 

So damaging and infamous in public estimation is the 
imputation of falsehood that, when we charge a man with 
unveracity, we rarely go so far as to call him a liar 
to his face; but we tell him in less offensive language 
that he has a vivid imagination, that his memory is de- 
fective, or that he has been betrayed into an error of 
judgment. 

All men, Pagans and Jews, as well as Christians, pay 
homage to truth. They all profess to worship at her 
shrine. Pagan Rome supplies us with noble examples 
of fidelity to truth even at the sacrifice of life. When 
Regulus was sent from Carthage to Pome with ambassa- 
dors to sue for peace, it was under the condition, that he 
should return to his Carthaginian prison if peace was not 
proclaimed. When he arrived in Rome, he implored the 
Senate to continue the war, and not to agree to the ex- 
change of prisoners. That implied his own return to 
captivity at Carthage. The Senators and the chief priest 
held that, as his oath had been extorted by force, he was 
not bound by it. " I am not ignorant/' replied Regulus, 
"that tortures and death await me; but what are these 



TRUTH AND SINCERITY OF CHARACTER. 83 

to the shame of an infamous action or the wounds of a 
guilty mind? Slave as I am to Carthage, I have still 
the spirit of a Roman. I have sworn to return. It is 
my duty to go." Regulus returned to Carthage and, it 
is said, was tortured to death. 

When Eleazar was threatened with death if he did not 
violate the law of God, he was urged by his friends to 
save his life by an act of dissimulation. But he replied : 
" It doth not become our age to dissemble : whereby many 
young persons might think that Eleazar, at the age of 
four score and ten years, was gone over to the life of the 
heathens. For though, for the present time, I should be 
delivered from the punishments of men, yet should I not 
escape the hand of the Almighty neither alive nor dead. 
Wherefore, by departing manfully out of this life, I shall 
shew myself worthy of my old age. And I shall leave 
an example of fortitude to young men if, with a ready 
mind and constancy, I suffer an honorable death for the 
most venerable and most holy laws. And having spoken 
thus, he was forthwith carried to execution." x 

If there is one virtue reflected more clearly than 
another on the pages of the New Testament; if there 
is one virtue for which Christ and His disciples were 
eminently conspicuous in their public and private life, 
it is the virtue of truth, candor, ingenuousness, and 
simplicity of character; and if there is any vice more 
particularly detested by them, it is hypocrisy, cunning, 
and duplicity of conduct. 

So great is our Saviour's reverence for truth, so great 
His aversion for falsehood, that He calls Himself "the 
way, the truth, and the life." His Holy Spirit, He names 

1 Machab. vi. 24-28. 



84 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

" the Spirit of truth," while designating the devil " a liar, 
the father of lies and of liars." l 

Even His enemies could not withhold their admiration 
for His truthfulness and sincerity : " Master," they said, 
" we know that Thou art true, and teachest the way of 
God in truth ; neither carest Thou for any one ; for Thou 
dost not regard the person of men." 2 

" Let your speech," says our Lord, " be yea, yea, nay, 
nay," 3 as if He would say: Let your conversation be 
always frank and direct, free from the tinsel of embellish- 
ment and exaggeration, divested of studied ambiguity 
with intent to deceive. 

I can recall but two instances in which Christ pro- 
nounces the eulogy of any man outside of the apostolic 
circle. He extols John the Baptist for his constancy and 
austerity, and He praises Nathanael for his guilelessness 
and sincerity of character : " Behold an Israelite, indeed, 
in whom there is no guile." 4 When He was instructing 
His disciples for their future mission, He told them to be 
"wise as serpents and simple as doves." 5 While they 
were to be wary and reserved among a hostile and captious 
people, He never allowed them to prevaricate or deflect 
one iota or tittle from the truth even to save their lives. 
As the serpent is said to expose his whole body to protect 
his head, so the Apostles were admonished to surrender 
not only their goods and their body, but even to sacrifice 
their life, rather than betray the truth. 

Christ is the martyr of truth as well as of charity. 
Caiaphas said to Him: "I adjure Thee by the living 

1 John viii. 44. 4 John I. 47. 

2 Matt. xxn. 16. 5 Matt. x. 16. 

3 Matt. v. 37. 



TRUTH AND SINCERITY OF CHARACTER. 85 

God that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the 
Son of God." How easily could Jesus have saved His 
life on this occasion by His silence or by an evasive 
answer ! But by openly avowing that He was the Christ, 
He signed His own death-warrant. 

It was not without a purpose that Christ gives us a 
little child as our model in our relations with our neighbor. 
" Unless ye become as little children, ye shall not enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." 1 Now, a child, until per- 
verted by its vicious elders, is artless, open, and truthful. 
It speaks from the heart. It deals not in equivocations 
or mental reservations. 

There was one class of persons toward whom our Lord 
was unsparing in His reprobation, and these were the 
scribes and Pharisees. He calls them a generation of vipers. 
" Wo to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites," He says, 
" because ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the 
dish : but within you are full of rapine and uncleanness. 
. . . Ye are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly 
appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men's 
bones and of all filthiness. So you also outwardly indeed 
appear to men just, but inwardly you are fulj of hypocrisy 
and iniquity." 2 His language toward them is a scathing 
denunciation of their insincerity, selfishness, and perver- 
sion of the truth. We may judge how odious is deceit in 
His eyes when He says to the Pharisees: "Amen I say 
to you that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the 
kingdom of God before you." 3 

St. Paul says : " Putting away lying, speak ye the truth 
every man with his neighbor, for we are members one 

1 Matt. xvhi. 3. 2 Matt. xxni. 25-28. 3 Matt. xxi. 31. 



86 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of another." 1 There is so absolute a trust aud confi- 
dence between the members of the human body, that 
when the heart, or hand, or foot suffers pain, the head 
never suspects the .afflicted member of practising decep- 
tion. The same trustworthiness that subsists among our 
physical members should extend, also, to the domestic, 
collegiate, and social body. Without this mutual coufi- 
dence, there could be no official nor friendly relations 
among men, and the wheels of social intercourse and com- 
mercial communication would suddenly stop. Nearly all 
the information that we acquire, is obtained from the testi- 
mony of others. Although we may at times be imposed 
upon, we have an instinctive faith in the veracity of our 
fellow-being. 

So great is the esteem in which truth is held at West 
Point Academy that, if a cadet deliberately makes a mis- 
statement to any of his superior officers, he is punished 
by expulsion. What a reproach would be the life of a 
Christian student who does not live up to the West Point 
standard ! In Cornell, Harvard, Yale, and other uni- 
versities, the same punishment is inflicted on students 
found guilty of presenting as their own essays, the com- 
positions of another. If the virtue of truth is inviolably 
upheld in commercial life, in secular colleges, and military 
circles, it should, undoubtedly, be not less cherished by 
those that aspire to be the official heralds of the Gospel 
of truth, and the most honorable members of that mystical 
body of which Christ is the Head. If it is a shame, as St. 
Bernard declares, to be effeminate members under a Head 
crowned with thorns, surely it is not less revolting to be a 
lying mouthpiece under a Head that is the Oracle of truth, 

1 Eph. iv. 25. 



TRUTH AND SINCERITY OP CHARACTER. 87 

St. Peter says : " Laying aside all malice and all guile 
and dissimulations and envies and all detractions, as new- 
born babes, desire the rational milk without guile that 
thereby you may grow unto salvation." * We are the 
spiritual children of a mother that never deceives us. So 
undoubting is our trust in her that we receive from her 
hands the bread of truth with as unquestioning a faith as 
the infant receives the milk at its mother's breast. The 
children should resemble the mother especially in her 
characteristic features of truth and sincerity. 

St. Thomas a Becket was conspicuous from his youth 
for inflexible veracity. Even in his childhood he always 
chose to suifer any blame, disgrace, or punishment rather 
than to tell an untruth, and in his whole life he was never 
found guilty of a lie in the smallest matter. 

St. Alphonsus, pleading a case before a court of justice, 
was accidentally betrayed into an error by interpreting 
the meaning of a document against the adverse party. 
When convinced of his mistake, so delicate was his sense 
of truth, so great his aversion for even the semblance of 
a lie, that he abruptly abandoned the legal profession and 
embraced the religious state. 

There is no time nor place in which the soldier of 
Christ is permitted to lay aside the armor of truth. The 
breast of God's minister, like that of the priest of the 
Old Law, should be the depository of doctrine and 
truth. 

The disciple of Christ should be the organ of truth not 
only when robed in the sacred vestments, but also in the 
secular garb ; not only in the sanctuary and pulpit, but 

1 1. Peter n. 1, 2. 



88 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

in the public and private walks of life as well ; in gay 
and festive, as well as in serious moods : 

" Ridentein dicer e verum quid vetat t " 

Purchasers view with suspicion even genuine cloth 
offered for sale by those who are known to deal in 
shoddy merchandise. . 

Seneca says that the untruthful man must have a good 
memory, because the falsehoods that he has once uttered, 
must be kept in mind so as to be propped up with ad- 
ditional misstatements. 1 

One may be guilty of falsehood in many ways. He 
may lie by telling a half-truth, omitting a circumstance 
essential to the fidelity of the narrative. He may lie by 
a shrug of the shoulders, by a gesture, by a deceitful 
silence, or by palming off in class as his own production 
the fruit of another's brain ; for the essence of a falsehood 
consists in the intention to deceive. His life may be a 
colossal lie by being false to his profession or calling, 
appearing to be rich in grace and good works in the sight 
of men, but being poor and blind and miserable in the sight 
of God. There are others who have a habit of exaggerating 
from a morbid desire of imparting a relish to the conversa- 
tion, and of attracting the attention of their hearers. The 
incidents they describe are usually of a startling and phe- 
nomenal nature, and their adventurous experiences have 
the flavor of a Gulliver or a Baron Munchausen. 

The pernicious habit of retailing jocose lies and sensa- 
tional stories, of making inaccurate statements, and of 
talking at random without weighing his words, will im- 
pair the offender's reputation for veraciousness in grave 



i« 



Oporlel mendacem memorem esse" 



TRUTH AND SINCERITY OF CHARACTER. 89 

matters, and expose him to the penalty of not being 
believed even when he tells the truth. He will be an 
illustration of the boy in the fable, who had repeatedly 
given false alarms about the approach of the wolf; but 
when the wolf had actually invaded the fold his outcry 
remained unheeded. 

The two chief causes that lead men to prevaricate, are 
prejudice against their neighbor, and inordinate self-love. 
Prejudice warps our judgment, and jaundices our mind, 
so that we view in an unfavorable light our neighbor's 
words and actions. Self-love and vanity prompt us to 
exaggerate our good deeds, and to underrate or palliate 
our own shortcomings. 

Charity and humility are the guardians of truth. They 
are the two angels that defend the temple of the soul 
against the approach of the demon of falsehood. Charity 
counsels us not to judge our neighbor unjustly or to 
magnify his defects ; and humility inspires us not to ex- 
tenuate our own. 

If we cannot be martyrs, let us be confessors of the 
truth. If we have not ,the courage, like our Master, to 
endure death for its sake, we should at least be prepared 
to suffer for it some passing humiliation or confusion. 

Let it be the aim of your life to be always frank and 
open, candid, sincere and ingenuous in your relations 
with your fellow-man. Set your face against all deceit 
and duplicity, all guile, hypocrisy and dissimulation. 
You will thus be living up to the maxims of the Gospel, 
you will prove yourself a genuine disciple of the God 
of truth, you will commend yourself to all honest men. 
You will triumph over those that lie in wait to deceive, 
for the intriguer is usually caught in his own toils. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Self-Respect and Human Respect. 

SELF-RESPECT is another characteristic of an ex- 
emplary and honorable student. He is guided in 
his moral conduct by well-defined principles of rectitude, 
from which he never deviates, and by an enlightened 
conscience, which he reverences as the voice of God. He 
scorns to commit in secret any mean or dishonorable act 
that he would be afraid to do in public. He has the same 
standard of propriety during vacation, among strangers 
in a hotel, in a railroad car, or elsewhere, that he had in 
the college under the eye of his superiors. He has the 
courage of his convictions, and he will modestly but 
firmly adhere to an unpopular cause which his sense of 
duty dictates, rather than espouse the popular measure 
that would gain him applause. Like the Apostle of the 
Gentiles, he is not disquieted by the unfavorable judg- 
ment of men, provided his actions meet the approval of 
his conscience; nor is he deterred from the straight line 
of conduct by sneers, or ridicule, or by the imputation of 
unworthy motives. He will never stoop to obtain by 
ignoble methods, the vantage-ground over an opponent; 
for he does not regulate his actions by the false maxim, 
that the end justifies the means. 

The youth who is actuated by self-respect has, also, 
great respect for others. As his own conduct is regu- 
90 



SELF-RESPECT AND HUMAN RESPECT. 91 

lated by upright intentions, lie is slow to impute dishonest 
motives to others. He does not pry into the secret 
springs of action in his companions ; hence, he is tolerant 
of their opinions. His regard and affection for them is 
neither impaired nor diminished, but rather strengthened, 
by occasional discussions and disagreements with them ; 
for he knows that the bond of fellowship is not of so 
fragile a temper as to be easily broken by an animated 
and good-natured tilt of words and clash of opinion. 

A clergyman once had a warm and prolonged discus- 
sion with the late Bishop Gilmour of Cleveland. Fearing 
that he might have offended the bishop by the freedom 
and earnestness with which he had upheld his views, 
the priest went that night to the bishop's room and 
said to him : " I beg to apologize for the boldness 
with which I argued with you to-day." "No apologv 
is necessary," replied the sturdy bishop: "I would not 
give a straw for you if you had not the courage to express 
your convictions. I honor you all the more for speak- 
ing out like a man." 

It is needless to say that the habit of self-respect pre- 
supposes in its possessor an unusual degree of force and 
strength of character. Many a man who fearlessly rushed 
to the cannon's mouth, on the field of battle, has quailed 
before the shafts of ridicule and derision. Young George 
Arthur, mentioned in Tom Brown's School Days, by going 
down on his knees and saying his prayers at Rugby School, 
in defiance of the jibes and jeers of his associates, and 
of the slippers aimed at him, exhibited a higher type of 
courage than his companions of riper years would have 
displayed by jumping into the river, to rescue a school- 
mate amid the plaudits of the spectators. 



92 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

St. Gregory remarks that David, dancing with pious 
enthusiasm before the Ark of the Lord, heedless of the 
scoffings and reproaches of Michol, his wife, displayed a 
greater virility of soul than when he slew the lion and 
smote Goliath ; for in his feats of valor he conquered an 
enemy, while in his act of devout humility he conquered 
himself. 

Daniel O'Connell showed less manhood and force of 
character in fighting a duel with D'Esterre than he 
evinced in after years by declining a challenge. In the 
former instance, he was swayed by a depraved public 
sentiment; in the latter, he obeyed the voice of con- 
science, regardless of popular clamor and the imputation 
of cowardice. 

In 1811, Napoleon convoked an assembly of prelates, 
to obtain their views on the expediency of formulating a 
new code of relations between the Holy See and the 
Church of France. When the members of the commis- 
sion appeared before the emperor, the judgment which 
they expressed, though very obsequious to the imperial 
will, was very prejudicial to the independence of the 
Pope. Rev. Mr. Emery, Superior-General of the Sul- 
picians, was the only member of the commission who 
dissented from the sentiments of the Council, and he forti- 
fied his opinion with sound arguments. The attending 
prelates were startled by his boldness. They manifested 
their disapproval by looks of defiance, and by withdraw- 
ing some distance from him. When the meeting was 
over, they apologized to his Majesty for the indiscretion 
of their colleague; but to their surprise and discomfiture, 
the emperor applauded the frankness and apostolic courage 
of the priest. Mr. Emery displayed a grander heroism 



SELF-RESPECT AND HUMAN RESPECT. 93 

on this occasion than even Archbishop Affre, of Paris, 
exhibited when he risked his life on the barricades in 
his efforts to stem the effusion of blood. The latter, 
when throwing himself between the two contending 
parties as- a voluntary peace-offering, was cheered by 
the approval of the spectators, as well as by that of 
his own conscience; whereas the former was supported 
solely by a stern sense of duty. He had nothing to 
expect but the enmity of the prelates and the indig- 
nation and chastisement of the most formidable and 
autocratic monarch of Europe. 

The vice opposed to self-respect is human respect. 
Human respect is a base condescension by which, from 
the fear of offending others, or from the desire of 
acquiring their esteem, a man says or does what his 
conscience conceives to be unlawful. It is not easy 
to exaggerate the baneful influence which this moral 
cowardice exerts on mankind, especially on impression- 
able youth, under the alluring guise of friendship and 
love of applause. 

St. Augustine tells us in his Confessions, that in his 
youth he was ashamed to be outdone in crime by his most 
depraved companions and that, through fear of incurring 
their contempt, he sometimes boasted of evil deeds which 
he had not committed : "Among my equals," he says, 
"I was ashamed of a less depravity when I heard them 
boast of their flagitiousness, yea, and the more they were 
degraded, the more they boasted ; and I took pleasure, 
not only in the gratification, but also in the praise of the 
deed. I made myself worse than I was, that I might 
not be dispraised ; and when in any thing I had not 
sinned as the abandoned ones, I would say that I had 



94 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

done what I had not done, that I might not seem con- 
temptible in proportion as I was innocent." * 

God has established in your breast the sacred tribunal 
of conscience, by whose dictates you are bound to decide. 
But in yielding to human respect, you act the part of a 
temporizing judge like Pilate, who pronounced sentence, 
not in accordance with the evidence! before him, but in 
obedience to the clamors of the multitude. You sacrifice 
principle to expediency, you subordinate the voice of 
God to the voice of man, you surrender your Christian 
liberty and manly independence, and you become the 
slave of a fellow-creature. You are guilty of treason to 
your conscience, and that is the basest kind of treason. 

The slave of human respect is like the idol mentioned 
by the Psalmist. It " has a mouth and speaks not, eyes 
and sees not, ears and hears not." This animated statue 
sees through the eyes of others, hears through the ears of 
others. He is a mere puppet, a mouthpiece echoing the 
sentiments of others. He tries to please men, which is 
praiseworthy ; but at the expense of his sense of duty, 
which is wrong. St. Paul does, indeed, tell you "to 
have peace with all men;" but he adds the proviso, 
" if it be possible, as much as is in you." 2 And else- 
where he declares : " If I yet pleased men" (in violation of 
my conscience) " I should not be the servant of Christ." 3 
Whoever tries to please everyone, right or wrong, may 
end by pleasing no one, and, by his fruitless efforts, illus- 
trate the fable of the old man and his beast. An old man 
was riding on his ass to town, his son following on foot. 
The first traveller that he met, called him a brute for 

1 Confessions, Bk. n. 2 Rom. xti. IS. * Gal. I. 10. 



SELF-RESPECT AND HUMAN RESPECT. 95 

riding at his ease while his son was walking. In obedi- 
ence to the remonstrance, the old man dismounted, and 
allowed his son to take his place. The second traveller 
that he met, suggested that donkeys were made to serve; 
whereupon the old man clambered up and rode behind 
the boy. And now a third appears on the scene. He, in 
turn, loudly reproached the riders for laying so weighty 
a burden upon the poor animal, and declared that they 
should be made to change places. The old man readily 
complied, and took the ass upon his shoulders; but, while 
crossing a bridge, the affrighted animal fell into the river 
and was drowned. 

The slavish betrayer of his conscience has no fixed 
principles, or he is afraid to act up to them. His little 
bark is without a rudder in mid-ocean, drifting about, 
tossed to and fro by every gale of opinion. His judg- 
ment, like the cameleon's skin, is tinged by the prevailing 
color of popular sentiment : 

"As the cameleon, which is known 
To have no colors of his own, 
But borrows from his neighbor's hue 
His white or black, his green or blue." 

" He holds with the hare, and runs with the hounds." 
He usually sits on the fence, ready to jump on the win- 
ning side. 

During our late Civil War, I read of a man who was 
travelling from the South to a northern State. The 
political creed of the passengers was canvassed on the 
train, as was not unfrequent in those days. Being roused 
from sleep, the usual question was put to him : "Where 
am I?" he asked. When informed that he was in Penn- 



96 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

sylvania, lie promptly declared himself a Union man. 
His patriotism was colored by the political complexion 
of the State through which he was passing. He w r ould 
probably have avowed himself an ardent Confederate, had 
he been questioned in Virginia. 

When Tullus Hostilius, King of Rome, was about to 
engage in battle with two neighboring tribes, Mettius 
Fufetius, the Alban leader and the ostensible ally of 
Rome, secretly informed the tribes that he w r ould help 
them as soon as the engagement began. Meantime, with 
his forces at some distance from the field of battle, he 
watched the issue of the conflict. When the Romans 
had conquered, Mettius hastened to congratulate Tullus 
Hostilius. But the king, aware of the double part that he 
had played, ordered him to be bound to four horses, and 
torn limb from limb. The perfidy and fearful punish- 
ment of Mettius exemplify the vacillation and mental 
disquietude of the temporizer, who is torn and distracted 
by conflicting doubts as to the side he should espouse. 

Though sometimes unjust, overbearing, and tyrannical, 
yet the master of the African slave w r as but one. But 
the slave of human respect is subject to as many masters 
as there are individuals whose censure he dreads or whose 
friendship he desires to conciliate, though at the sacrifice 
of his sense of duty. In order to pay homage to these 
masters, he is obliged to study their particular humors 
and dispositions, to ascertain their actual temper of mind, 
and to regulate his obsequiousness according to their ever- 
varying passions and caprices. How lamentable to find 
men of intelligence and of keen moral sense afraid to 
stand for the right in the presence of others, who are 
often inferior to them in everything except boldness, 



SELF-RESPECT AND HUMAN RESPECT. 97 

whom in their hearts they despise, but whose ridicule 
and sneers they are not brave enough to withstand ! 

The slave of human respect must, assuredly, be con- 
temptible in his own eyes when he searches his heart 
and contemplates his dissimulation and cowardice; for 
he uses his speech as if it were given him to conceal, 
and not to express, his thoughts. He is despised by 
his companions, for what respect can they have for one 
who has not the courage to speak and act out his 
honest convictions? He is odious to God, whose inspi- 
rations he rejects, and whose cause he betrays out of 
a servile fear of man. "No man," says our Lord, "can 
serve two masters. For either he will hate the one 
and love the other; or he will sustain the one and 
despise the other." 1 He who has never made an enemy 
in the discharge of his public or private duties, and who 
has never run counter to public opinion, will hardly 
succeed in leaving a record that will command the 
impartial admiration of posterity. 

I cannot better close these remarks on human respect 
than by commending the following appropriate texts of 
Scripture to the earnest consideration of the reader : 

" He that shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, 
the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him when He 
shall come in the glory of His Father with the holy 
angels." 2 

" It is not good to have respect to persons in judgment. 
They that say to the wicked man, thou art just, shall be 
cursed by the people, and the tribes shall abhor them." 3 

1 Matt. vi. 24. 2 Mark vin. 38. 3 Prov. xxiv. 23, 24. 

7 



98 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

"Who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a 
mortal man and of the son of man who shall wither like 
grass ? " l 

" But to me it is a very small thing to be judged by 
you or by man's day." 2 

" Whosoever shall confess Me before men, I will also 
confess him before My Father who is in heaven." 3 



1 Isaiah Li. 12. 2 1. Cor. iv. 3. 8 Matt, x 32. 



CHAPTER X. 
Charity, Politeness and Cheerfulness. 

GENUINE benevolence toward our companions in 
the seminary, and afterward toward our brother 
priests in the ministry, as well as toward our fellow- 
beings generally, is not only the most indispensable of 
virtues, but without it all the other virtues become like 
Dead-Sea apples, insipid and worthless. If the virtue 
of fraternal charity is imperatively enjoined on all men, 
it should be especially cultivated by clergymen in their 
intercourse with one another. 

Our Blessed Redeemer sets so high a price on this 
virtue that He makes it the subject of His last discourse 
and prayer before His crucifixion, and leaves it as a dying 
legacy to His disciples, the proto-preachers of the law of 
love: "A new commandment," He says, "I give unto 
you that ye love one another. By this shall all men 
know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one for 
another." * u I pray (Father) that they all may be one 
as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee, that they also 
may be one in Us : that the world may believe that Thou 
hast sent Me." 2 We may judge of the value which Christ 
sets upon fraternal charity among His disciples, since He 
here declares that it was to be the test of discipleship, and 
the most luminous evidence of His own divine mission. 

1 John xiii. 34, 35. 2 Ibid. xvn. 21. 

99 



100 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

St. Paul commends this queenly virtue with his usual 
force and condensation. If his words are always de- 
serving of our respectful attention, they specially com- 
mand our reverential consideration in the following ex- 
hortation which he delivers from his prison in Rome : 
" I, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk 
worthy of the vocation in which you are called, with all 
humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one 
another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the Spirit 
in the bond of peace. One body and one spirit as ye are 
called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, 
one baptism. One God and Father of all who is above 
all, and through all, and in us all." l 

You should love one another, says the Apostle, because 
you belong to the same collegiate body as students, or to 
the same clerical body as priests, or to the same mystical 
body as Christians ; and you should manifest toward one 
another the same tender feeling and active sympathy 
that the organs of the human body exhibit toward one 
of its suffering members. 

You should be united in the bonds of fellowship, be- 
cause you are animated by the same divine Spirit. No 
matter what may be your grade or rank in the hierarchy 
of the Church, you are all illumined and sanctified by 
the same Holy Ghost, just as the members of your body 
are quickened by the same soul. " There are diversities 
of graces, but the same Spirit. There are diversities of 
ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities 
of operations, but the same God who worketh all in all." 2 
As the members of the body move in harmony under the 
guidance of the soul, so should the members of Christ, 

! Eph.iv. 1-6. 8 1. Cor. xii. 4-6. 



CHARITY, POLITENESS AND CHEERFULNESS. 101 

especially those of His teaching body, act in concert 
under the sweet influence of the Spirit of love and peace, 
for the Holy Ghost " is not the God of dissensions, but 
of peace." 

You should be attached to one another, because you 
have the same faith. Your mission is to offer the same 
Sacrifice, to administer the same Sacraments, and to preach 
the same Gospel. You are the chosen leaders in the army 
of the Lord. There is usually an esprit de corps, a bond 
of fellowship among the members of the same profession 
or guild. You have often heard of the untiring efforts 
which a member of the Masonic Fraternity will make to 
protect a fellow-mason. Why should the bond of secrecy 
exert more influence on him than the hallowed bond of 
faith on you ? 

What will it avail you to have the light of faith 
without the fire of charity? "The devils believe and 
tremble." " If I speak," says the Apostle, " with the 
tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I 
am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And 
if I have prophecy, and should know all mysteries and 
all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove 
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." 1 In 
vain are the roots of faith sound and healthy, if the fruits 
of the tree are inwardly eaten by the worm of rancor and 
jealousy. With what embarrassment and confusion must 
a minister of the Gospel address his congregation on the 
subject of fraternal concord, when he nourishes in his 
own breast a spirit of resentment toward a brother priest 
or one of his neighbors ! What fruit can be produced by 
a tree so poisoned ? Will not his hearers, if conscious of 

1 I. Cor. xiii. 1, 2. 



102 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

his enmity, say in their hearts what they may be deterred 
by a feeling of reverence from declaring with their lips : 
" Physician, heal thyself? " 

You should exercise a spirit of benevolence toward one 
another, because " you are all called in the one hope of 
your vocation." You are all in the same bark of Peter, 
guided by the celestial chart which our great Captain has 
left us. You share the storms and sunshine of life. You 
are buffeted alike by the waves of adversity. You are 
impelled by the same winds. You are steering for the 
same eternal shores, aspiring to the same glorious heri- 
tage. As you hope to be loving fellow-citizens in the 
heavenly Jerusalem, why not cultivate those friendly 
relations in the land of your probation? Our dislikes 
and animosities will be irrevocably excluded from the 
kingdom of God. We must part with them here, or not 
enter there at all. 

You should live as brothers, because you are brethren of 
the same Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The orthodox 
Crucifix represents Him with arms wide-stretched on the 
cross, to remind us that His love is all-embracing, and 
that He died for all. The Apostles had all abandoned 
their Master before the crucifixion. One of them had 
denied Him, another had betrayed Him. When He arose 
from the grave, He made no allusion to their infidelity, 
but He sent them this message of love: "Go and tell My 
disciples that I ascend to their Father and to My Father, 
to their God and to My God." The very first Apostle to 
whom He appeared, was the one that had denied Him. 
With such an example before us, how can we steel our 
heart against an offending brother? How can we refuse 
to speak to him for whom Christ did not disdain to die? 



CHARITY, POLITENESS AND CHEERFULNESS. 103 

Lastly, you should cherish a mutual brotherly affec- 
tion, because you are children of " one God and Father 
of all who is above all, and through all, and in us all." 

These considerations are but a running commentary on 
the words of St. Paul. The same Apostle will now point 
out to us the salient features of charity, and the manner 
of exercising that royal virtue : " Charity is patient, is 
kind. Charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not 
puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not 
provoked to anger, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in in- 
iquity, but rejoiceth with the truth : beareth all things, 
hopeth all things, endureth all things." 1 

Let me briefly refer to one characteristic form of char- 
ity, which is most frequently demanded of us in the daily 
walks of life. I refer to Christian politeness. Politeness, 
or courtesy, is not governed by artificial rules. It is the 
spontaneous expression by word and act of genuine kind- 
ness of heart. As St. Francis de Sales observes, it re- 
sembles water "which is best when clearest, most simple, 
and without taste." It has been well remarked that a 
beautiful form is more attractive than a beautiful face, 
and beautiful behaviour is more attractive than a beauti- 
ful form. Affability and good breeding are indispens- 
able for a clergyman in his intercourse with the world; 
and the want of them is apt to impair, if it does not neu- 
tralize, his usefulness. " Civility," says Lady Montague, 
"costs nothing and buys everything." 

I give it as my solemn conviction, that one of the best 
means that a priest can adopt for preserving peace and 
concord among the members of his household and his 
colleagues, is to observe the canons of politeness and the 

1 1. Cor. xiii. 4-7. 



104 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

rules of exterior decorum, though without permitting them 
to degenerate into cold and rigid formality. I am equally- 
persuaded that the studied reserve and misunderstanding 
sometimes existing among clergymen of the same house- 
hold and neighborhood, may often be traced to the neglect 
of these exterior acts of courtesy toward one another. 

"Wisdom and virtue," observes Samuel Johnson, "are 
by no means sufficient, without the supplemental laws of 
good-breeding, to secure freedom from degenerating into 
rudeness, or self-esteem from swelling into insolence; a 
thousand incivilities may be committed, and a thousand 
offices neglected, without any remorse of conscience or 
reproach from reason." x 

But, perhaps, you will say : I admit, indeed, the pro- 
priety of exhibiting marks of decorum to strangers and to 
friends whom we meet only occasionally, but what is the 
use of observing polite behaviour toward the members of 
one's own household with whom we habitually come in 
contact? I answer : It is just because you meet them so 
frequently that you should extend to them marks of civility. 
Is not politeness a social and domestic virtue? And who 
has a greater claim to its exercise than your fellow-laborers 
and the other members of your family? The most influ- 
ential of virtues are those that are most in request for daily 
use, just as water, air, fire and light are the most essential 
elements of life and health. The precious gems of domestic 
charity hang like pearls on slender threads, and these 
threads are common civility and gentle manners. As 
religion cannot long subsist in the heart without the ex- 
ternal forms of ceremony, so charity cannot long abide in 
the household without polite behaviour and good -breeding. 

1 The Kambler. 



CHARITY, POLITENESS AND CHEERFULNESS. 105 

Cheerfulness is the daughter of innocence and charity ; 
and therefore the soul that is the seat of guilelessness and 
pure affection, is habitually joyous. " The voice of re- 
joicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles of the just." 1 
"The kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; but justice, 
and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 2 Cheerfulness 
does not consist in a fitful, gushing and boisterous mirth- 
fulness which soon evaporates, but it is a steady stream 
of the milk of human kindness flowing from a serene 
heart at peace with God and man. A person of a happy 
frame of mind is not affected by the clouds and sunshine 
of daily life: "Rich or poor, if his heart is good, his 
countenance shall be cheerful at all times." 3 

A cheerful* disposition contributes much to the rational 
enjoyment of life. So attractive is a man of a sunny nature, 
that we are instinctively drawn toward him, while we are in- 
voluntarily repelled by an individual of a sour disposition. 

Cheerfulness imparts a certain elasticity to our spirits, 
and a spring to our movements. The man of a fretful 
humor often sinks under his burden ; while the buoyant 
man is borne on the wings of hope and love. " I have 
run," says the Prophet, " in the way of Thy Command- 
ments, when Thou didst enlarge my heart." 4 

Some are endowed by nature with a gladsome disposi- 
tion ; a melancholy temperament is inborn in others. 
Cheerfulness, however, like every other habit, can be 
trained and developed. 

Cultivate, therefore, a joyous spirit, and let its rays be 
diffused throughout every home which you will enter to 
dispense the Bread of life, and to administer the consola- 
tions of religion ; for " God loveth a cheerful giver." 

1 Ps. cxvii. 15. 9 Rom. xiv. 1 7. 3 Ecclus. xxvi. 4. 4 Ps. cxviii. 



106 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHKIST. 

Above all, let them radiate among the members of your 
own household. 

Our diocesan clergy residing in the same presbytery, 
have few occasions to meet and converse together during 
the day, except at meals. Hence they should profit by 
the time devoted to bodily refection, by consecrating those 
moments also to wholesome relaxation of mind, like the 
primitive Christians who " took their meat with gladness 
and simplicity of heart" 1 

As a bright and airy dining room is conducive to physi- 
cal health, so a warm and genial disposition helps diges- 
tion, and is profitable to the soul ; while a gloomy, morose, 
and uncongenial temper is hurtful to mind and body. 
"Drive away sadness far from thee, for sadness hath 
killed many, and there is no profit in it." 2 

We may apply to the cheerful man what the Scripture 
says of Wisdom : " Her conversation hath no bitterness, 
nor her company any tediousness, but joy and gladness." 3 

By cordiality of manner during the meal, by striving 
to be agreeable to the company, by avoiding subjects cal- 
culated to wound or irritate those around you, or that 
may be injurious to the good name of others ; by season- 
ing the food with the salt of entertaining and edifying 
conversation, you will unbend the bow strained by men- 
tal or physical exertion ; you will lighten the labors, and 
sweeten the cares of the ministry ; you will interchange 
with your colleagues useful points of information ; you will 
foster a more hearty co-operation in the work of the parish ; 
you will strengthen the bonds of fraternal fellowship and 
good will among your companions, and will realize the 
truth of the Prophet's words : " Behold how good and how 
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." 4 

^cts ii. 4G. 2 Ecclus. xxx. 24 ?~>. 8 Wis. vm. 16. 4 Ps. cxxxn. 1. 



CHAPTER XL 
Hindrances to Charity. 

THE bonds of fraternal charity are usually weakened 
or dissolved among clergymen by one of the four 
following causes : 

First : Discords and contentions may be fomented 
among students and priests by uncongeniality and in- 
compatibility of temper ; for there are diversities of 
character and temperament in collegiate and clerical 
circles, as well as in the world at large. Some are con- 
stitutionally warm-hearted and affectionate; others are 
cold and reserved. Some are naturally quick and hot- 
tempered; others are cool and self-possessed. One is 
of a suspicious and quarrelsome disposition ; another 
is of a peaceful and benevolent nature. One is rude 
and undisciplined ; another has affable and refined man- 
ners. " It is no great thing/' says Kempis, " to asso- 
ciate with the good and gentle; for this is naturally 
pleasing to all, and every one preferreth peace, and 
loveth best those that have like sentiments. But to 
be able to live peaceably with the hard and the per- 
verse, or with the undisciplined, and those that con- 
tradict us, is a great grace, and a highly commendable 
and manly thing." 1 

1 Bk. ii. Ch. in. 

107 



108 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

The man that has the habit of wandering abroad and 
contemplating the defects of his neighbor, has little time 
for introspection and for correcting his own moral de- 
linquencies. We shall, therefore, preserve peace in our 
own heart and promote that of others by overlooking or 
condoning their faults, and by studying to get rid of our 
own. It is not improbable that, while we are observing 
the mote in our brother's eye, he is looking at the beam 
in ours. If he sometimes taxes our patience, we may 
often be a source of disquietude to him. 

Secondly : Another cause of dissensions are envy and 
jealousy. A student may happen to be more talented 
and diligent than some of his companions. He makes 
greater progress in his studies, he receives more attention 
and more expressions of approval from his professor, and 
he is especially popular among his fellow-students. Some 
of his less favored associates are stung by the green-eyed 
monster jealousy. They feel slighted, and imagine that 
they are unfairly dealt with. They suspect their su- 
periors of undue partiality. They detect imaginary faults 
in their gifted companion, and regard him as a personal 
enemy. They speak disparagingly of him, or kill him 
with faint praise. Like the envious brothers of the patri- 
arch Joseph, they put a sinister construction on his most 
harmless words, and they accuse him of over-weening 
ambition. 

We should guard against jealousy, which is a source of 
injury to others and of misery to ourselves. St. Paul tells 
us "to rejoice with those that rejoice, to weep with those 
that weep." We manifest greater magnanimity in rejoic- 
ing than in weeping, because in sympathizing with others, 
we are following the impulse of nature, we are tacitly 



HINDRANCES TO CHARITY. 109 

indulging self, we are exercising unconscious superiority 
and a patronizing spirit over those with whom we con- 
dole. But in rejoicing with them that rejoice, we are 
performing an act of unselfish generosity. Moreover, as 
faith is inferior to charity, so is compassion inferior to 
rejoicing. In commiserating the sorrowful, we are prac- 
tising a virtue necessarily confined to the present life; 
whereas, the charity that rejoiceth with the happy, is a 
virtue that will be perfected in heaven. 

Nay, must we not fear that the demon of jealousy may 
sometimes find access to the hearts of clergymen of the 
same household ? One may be envious of another, because 
he is more popular with the congregation ; he has more 
engaging manners, more winning ways. His sermons are 
more attractive, his confessional more frequented ; he makes 
more converts, and he is otherwise more sought after. 

Again, a pastor observes that the rector of a neighbor- 
ing parish is making large accessions to his congregation 
(without, however, any violation of the diocesan statutes, 
or of the rules of justice and charity). Although the 
success of this rector is due to his unction and force in 
the pulpit, to his zeal in the confessional, to his devoted- 
ness to the sick and the afflicted, he becomes the object of 
his brother's enmity and the victim of his unfavorable 
comments. 

If we are actuated by a genuine zeal for God's honor 
and the extension of His kingdom, we shall rejoice in the 
successful labors of our brother priest as in our own. The 
merchant views a lucrative business transaction of his 
partner with as keen a sense of satisfaction as if he had 
accomplished it himself, because he has an equal share in 
the profits. And do we not participate in the merits of 



110 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

our colleague's prosperous ministry by rejoicing in it? 
When Josue heard that some men were sharing in the 
prophetic office of Moses, he said to the Lawgiver: "My 
lord, forbid them." But Moses answered : " Why 
hast thou emulation for me? O that all the people 
might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them His 
Spirit!" 1 

When John told his Master that he had forbidden a 
man to cast out devils, because he was not a follower of 
the apostolic band, our Lord said to him : " Do not for- 
bid him. For he that is not against you, is for you." 2 
How much more forcibly do the words of Christ apply 
to your brother priest who is associated with you in the 
apostolic ministry ! 

St. Paul thus writes of certain preachers who were 
envious of his honor and success : " But what then? So 
that by all means, whether by occasion, or in truth, 
Christ be preached ; in this also I rejoice, yea, and I 
will rejoice." 3 

Our Saviour reproved the Apostles, when they were 
contending among themselves as to which of them seemed 
to be the greater, and He gave them this lesson of 
humility: "But he that is the greater among you, let 
him become as the younger ; and he that is the leader as 
he that serveth." 4 Pride is the root of envy. We are 
emulous, indeed, of God's glory, but we would have some 
of its rays descend on ourselves. The words of Christ 
are intended not only as an instruction to His disciples, 
but also as a warning and an example to us. 

1 Num. xi. 28, 29. 3 Phil. 1. 18. 

2 Mark ix. 38, 39. 4 Luke xxn. 26. 



HINDRANCES TO CHARITY. Ill 

Thirdly. Animosities are engendered, also, by religious 
discussions ; and the odium theologicum, though more rare 
than other causes of enmity, is proverbially intense and 
implacable. The contestants in the controversy confine 
themselves for awhile to the subjects under consideration. 
After hotly arguing the question for a time, they gradu- 
ally glide into personalities, and impugn each other's 
motives. While both were probably within the line of 
orthodoxy, one took a conservative, the other a liberal 
view of the subject. The one leaned to the side of au- 
thority, the other contended for freedom. The conserva- 
tive begins to call his liberal opponent a radical; the 
liberal stamps the conservative a reactionary. The con- 
servative goes a step further, and throws out thinly veiled 
hints about his antagonist's heterodoxy — a method of 
controversy which is aptly styled " poisoning the wells." 
The liberal retaliates by calling his opponent a fossil. 
The respective allies of the two combatants take up the 
dispute and fan the flame. The arena of this war of 
words is still more widened when the newspapers plunge 
into the debate and sometimes, without caring to ascer- 
tain the original basis of the discussion, decide the dis- 
pute with oracular dogmatism according to their indi- 
vidual prejudices. Once the subject of discussion has 
drifted away into the open sea of promiscuous contro- 
versy, it is as hard to lead it back to its first moorings as 
to gather up feathers scattered by the winds. 

St. Paul thus describes the contentious man: "He is 
proud, knowing nothing, but sick about questions and 
strifes of words, from which arise envies, contentions, 
blasphemies, evil suspicions, conflicts of men." 1 Later, 

U.Tim, vi. 4, 5. 



112 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

he exhorts Timothy to "avoid foolish and unlearned 
questions; knowing that they beget strifes. But the ser- 
vant of the Lord must not wrangle, but be mild toward 
all men, apt to teach, patient, with modesty admonishing 
them that resist the truth." ! 

Eeligious discussions are not an evil in themselves. 
On the contrary, they are an evidence of a healthy mental 
activity, a proof of zeal for the cause of truth. But in 
order that they may be useful and edifying, the parties 
engaged in them should be actuated solely by a love for 
truth. They should present their views with calmness 
and moderation ; they should adhere with conscientious 
fidelity to the question under consideration, without en- 
cumbering it with side issues or irrelevant matter; they 
should invariably treat their opponent with courtesy and 
benevolence, never ascribing to him base or sinister mo- 
tives; and they should abandon the controversy if they 
discover that charity is likely to be offended by it. In a 
word, the motto of St. Vincent Lerins should be studi- 
ously adhered to : " In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, 
in omnibus caritas." 

" Differences always have been, always will be in the 
Church," writes Cardinal Newman ; H and Christians 
would have ceased to have spiritual and intellectual life, 
if such differences did not exist. It is part of their mili- 
tant state. No human power can hinder it; nor, if it 
attempted it, could do more than make a solitude and call 
it peace. And thus thinking that man cannot hinder it, 
however much he try, I have no great anxiety or trouble. 
Man cannot, and God will not. He means such differ- 
ences to be an exercise of charity. Of course I wish as 

1 II. Tim. ii. 23, 25. 



HINDRANCES TO CHARITY. 113 

much as possible to agree with all my friends; but if, in 
spite of my utmost efforts, they go beyond me or come 
short of me, I can't help it and take it easy." l 

Lawyers and statesmen usually exhibit toward one 
another, even in the heat of discussion, a courtesy and 
forbearance worthy of our praise and imitation. They 
rarely permit the clash of professional strife to cause any 
breach in their friendly relations. William Wirt, the 
celebrated Maryland lawver, and Daniel Webster were 
once pitted against each other in an important suit in 
Boston. Notwithstanding their divergence on national 
and State politics, and their impassioned efforts for their 
respective clients, Mr. Wirt writes home from Boston 
that he received from Mr. Webster cordiality of attention 
and warmth of hospitality that could not be exceeded. 2 

I once listened in the Senate to a speech of Mr. Blaine, 
in w T hich he vehemently assailed the policy of the Demo- 
cratic party. After concluding his remarks, he crossed 
to the other side of the chamber, and held a familiar 
conversation with a leading Democratic Senator. The 
same evening, on meeting the latter statesman, I expressed 
my surprise that he should be on terms so intimate with 
a political antagonist. " O," he replied, " we don't allow 
our official utterances to mar our personal friendship." 

Fourthly. Nationalism is another occasion of the breach 
of charity among students and priests. To scorn and 
despise a fellow-clergyman because he happens to be of a 
different nationality from ourselves^ is a sentiment as 
senseless as it is criminal, 

1 Letter to W. G. Ward. 

2 Memoirs of William Wirt (Kennedy). 

8 



114 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Was not the Divine Head of the Church a foreigner? 
And yet we have never heard of Christians of any country 
being ashamed of the Founder of the Christian religion 
because he was an alien. Did the Roman Empire reject 
the teachings of the Apostles, because they were not " to 
the manor born?" Did the Corinthians aud the Athen- 
ians refuse to listen to Paul, because he was a native of 
Tarsus? Was Peter less honored in Antioch, because he 
was born in Galilee? Was John less beloved in Ephesus, 
because he w T as a Jew? Eugland cherished her apostle 
Augustine none the less, although he was sent to her from 
across the Channel. Ireland's veneration for Patrick is 
as strong as it would have been had he claimed the Green 
Isle for his birth-place. Germany reveres her apostle 
Boniface, though he w T as an Englishman; and France has 
erected one of her grandest churches to St. Owen, an 
Irishman. St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of India, was 
a Spaniard. The name of the Belgian, Father De Smet, 
is held in benediction among the Indian tribes of North 
America. 

Christianity is not indigenous to any soil. Its growth 
throughout the world would have been absolutely impos- 
sible, if its seed had not been planted originally by alien 
missionaries. 

The Church of Christ is essentially Catholic, or world- 
wide, and the bond of fellowship between her consecrated 
sons is not restricted by State lines or national boundaries. 
I am associated with all Americans by the ties of citizen- 
ship and patriotism. I am associated with all Catholics 
by the ties of faith, hope, and charity. I am associated 
with all priests by the closer ties of apostolic brotherhood 



HINDRANCES TO CHARITY. 115 

whereby we are made the fellow-" ministers of Christ and 
the dispensers of the mysteries of God." ! 

Could our Lord have more strikingly contrasted the 
sectionalism of the Jewish priest with the all-embracing 
scope of the Christian minister than He has done in the 
parable of the Good Samaritan? The intercourse and 
beneficence of the Hebrew priest were confined to his own 
nation. The good fellowship and friendly relations of 
the Christian priest are to extend to his brethren of all 
nations. I do not see how any Catholic clergyman can 
seriously read this parable, and not blush for shame at 
the narrow spirit of provincialism by which he excludes 
from his benevolence a brother priest, because he hap- 
pened to be born in another country, or has a mother- 
tongue different from his own. 

If a provincial or sectional spirit would be repre- 
hensible among the clergy of Europe, which for centuries 
has been enjoying the blessings of Christian faith, a like 
prejudice would exhibit base ingratitude on the part of 
our native clergy, since our country is not only exclu- 
sively indebted to immigrant missionaries for the first 
seeds of faith sown here, but is also largely beholden to 
them for the continuous cultivation of this portion of the 
Lord's vineyard to the present day. 

But if our American clergy would sin against charity 
in discriminating against their brethren of foreign birth, 
how shall we characterize the latter if they manifest a 
clannish disposition with respect to priests of American 
birth? It is sweet, indeed, and honorable in them to 
love and cherish the land of their origin ; but it is their 
solemn and sacred duty to identify themselves with the 

H. Cor. iv. 1, 



116 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

country of their adoption, where they intend to live and 
die, and where they enjoy the blessings of civil and re- 
ligious liberty. 

To the honor of our Catholic clergy, it must be said, 
that they have betrayed this sectional animosity much 
less frequently than the ministers of Protestant denomi- 
nations. While the leading sects became hopelessly di- 
vided during our Civil War on the subject of slavery and 
State rights, the bond of fraternity was never broken nor 
even strained among the Catholic clergy south and north 
of Mason and Dixon's line. 

Nothing contributes better to efface race prejudices than 
the cohabitation under the same roof of students of di- 
verse races. 

The alumni of St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore 
represent a great variety of nations, and yet I have 
never heard that this circumstance had engendered any 
feeling of antipathy or discord among them. On the 
contrary, this very diversity of origin broadens and 
deepens their sympathies, and tends to divest them of 
the narrowness and provincialism characteristic of those 
who have spent their lives among their own kindred, 
within the confines of their native homes. 

I sat at dinner some time ago with a body of clergy, 
who represented fourteen different nationalities, and to 
whom the words of the Psalmist could be applied : " Be- 
hold how good and how pleasant a thing it is for breth- 
ren to dwell together in unity !" 

"When peers thus knit, a kingdom ever stands." 1 

I shall conclude this chapter with a brief portrayal of 
the exemplary Christian scholar : 

1 Tericles, Act Ii. 



HINDRANCES TO CHARITY. 117 

The model student is always a welcome visitor to the 
circle of his companions. Unconsciously he sheds sun- 
shine around him. He is frank and ingenuous without 
being oracular and dogmatic. He is neither a silent nor 
a garrulous bore. He is an attentive listener, as well as 
an agreeable talker. He is earnest in argument, though 
not disputatious. He discusses questions with spirit, but 
without loss of temper. He meets his opponent's argu- 
ments without being betrayed into the common fault of 
becoming personal by assailing his opponent himself or 
impugning his motives. 

He can be humorous and entertaining without ever 
descending to grossness, buffoonery, or indecency. He 
has the gift of amusing, without wounding, his com- 
panions. His shafts of wit leave no sting after them. 
He never intentionally, and rarely unintentionally, hurts 
the feelings of others. He does not bristle nor lose his 
temper at a repartee. He takes it with good grace, and 
he even joins in the merriment at his expense. He is 
free from the childish sensitiveness that is apt to detect 
a vicious motive in a bantering word. He knows that 
" Charity is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil, is 
not suspicious." He never repeats a story that would be 
hurtful or injurious to another. He is a non-conductor 
of the electric current of calumny; it is buried in his own 
breast. 

In the field of college games and amusements, or in 
that of intellectual strife, he is not elated by success nor 
depressed by defeat. He rejoices with the victor, he 
sympathizes with the vanquished, and he encourages the 
weak and timid. He knows how to praise a friend 
without flattering him, and to correct him without giving 



118 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

offence. As true fellowship is based on virtue, the 
Christian disciple will never sacrifice truth and honor 
to friendship. He follows the maxim of Aristotle : 
"Amicus Piato, amicus Socrates, sed magis arnica Veri- 
tas" l He is punctual in his engagements, faithful to 
his promises, and prompt in the payment of his debts. 
He is opposed to party or factious spirit as a student in 
college, or as a priest in the ministry, where all should 
live as brethren. While he cherishes a few special friends, 
he has a heart full of benevolence for all. He is never 
for Paul or Apollo, but always for Christ. 



1 Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but truth is a friend that 
I value above both. 



CHAPTER XII. 
The Spirit of Poverty. 

IF wealth could contribute to the peace and happiness, 
as well as to the real glory of the priesthood and 
the salvation of souls, Christ would certainly have chosen 
for Himself and have recommended to His Apostles, a 
life of affluence and luxury. 

But the experience of nineteen centuries has amply 
proved that the Christian ministers who have set their 
heart on the accumulation of money, to the neglect of 
higher and holier interests, have never been happy, nor 
has their honor been augmented in public estimation by 
their temporal possessions. "They have forsaken the 
Fountain of living waters, and have digged to themselves 
cisterns, broken cisterns, which can hold no water." l 

We know that Christ was born in the most abject 
poverty From His childhood to His crucifixion, He 
was destitute of all the luxury, and even of many of the 
comforts of life. He could say of Himself what few 
vagrants and tramps can affirm of themselves : " The 
foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests ; but the 
Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." 2 He had 
neither house nor garden, vineyard nor farm. He had 
barely enough to supply Himself and His disciples with 

] Jer. u. 13. 2 Luke ix. 58. 

119 



120 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

the necessaries of life. We know that, on one occasion, 
He and Peter did not possess between them as much as a 
didrachma to pay the tax. 1 St. Paul says that Jesus Christ 
" being rich, He became poor for your sake that, through 
His poverty, you might be rich." 2 

The first sentence that He utters to His disciples in His 
Sermon on the Mount, is a declaration of the blessedness 
of voluntary poverty : " Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 3 

The great prophets of old, Elias and Eliseus, Isaiah 
and Jeremias, led a life of great austerity and privation. 
Their food was simple and precarious ; their clothing 
coarse and scanty ; and they had no fixed abode. In the 
words of the Apostle, " They wandered about in sheep- 
skins, in goat-skins, being in want, distressed, afflicted, 
of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts, 
in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth." 4 

St. John the Baptist, the Precursor of our Saviour, had 
neither an extensive wardrobe nor sumptuous fare. His 
dress consisted of camels' hair, and his food of locusts 
and wild honey. 

We are told in the Gospel that, on a certain occasion, 
" Jesus went through the corn on the Sabbath, and His 
disciples being hungry, began to pluck the ears and to 
eat." 5 How eloquently does this simple incident unfold 
to us the privations endured by the Apostles, who relieved 
their hunger by eating a few ears of corn in their hasty 
passage through a field ! How rarely are our most desti- 
tute missionaries reduced to such straits as to be obliged 
to make their daily round on an empty stomach ! 

1 Matt. xvn. 23. 8 Matt. v. 3. 5 Matt. xn. 1. 

2 II. Cor. viii. 9. 4 Heb. xi. 37, 38. 



THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY. 121 

When Peter and John were asked for alms by the lame 
man at the gate of the Temple, Peter said : " Silver and 
gold I have none ; but what I have, I give thee : in the 
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk." 1 
How sublime is apostolic poverty when allied with apos- 
tolic power ! St. Thomas Aquinas once paid a visit to 
Pope Innocent IV., while a heap of gold coins happened 
to be lying on his table. The Pontiff, pointing to the 
gold, playfully remarked to the saint : " You see, Brother 
Thomas, that I caunot say with Peter : 'Silver and gold 
I have not.' " " True," modestly replied the Angelic 
Doctor, "neither can your Holiness say with Peter : 'In 
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk/ " 
The Pontiff humbly felt that Peter possessed the richer 
treasure. 2 

St. Paul, speaking of himself and his fellow- Apostles, 
says : " Even unto this hour w r e both hunger and thirst, 
and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no fixed abode, 
and we labor wwking with our own hands." 3 Again he 
says : We are " as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as 
needy, yet enriching many, as having nothing, and pos- 
sessing all things." 4 Writing to the Thessalonians, he 
says: "You remember, brethren, our labor and toil: 
working night and day, lest we should be chargeable to 
any of you, we preached among you the Gospel of God." 5 

Is it probable that the religious revolution of the six- 
teenth century would have caused so terrible an upheaval 
in England had not the king and his courtiers been allured 
by the enormous wealth and temporal possessions of some 

1 Acts in. 6. 4 ir. Cor. vi. 10. 

2 Saint Jure, L' Homme JReligieux. 5 1. Thess. jr. 9. 

3 1. Cor. iv. 11, 12. 



122 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

of the churchmen and ecclesiastical institutions of the 
realm? 

The privations and labors endured by many of the 
pioneer bishops and missionary priests of the United 
States, were a counterpart of the lives of the Apostles 
themselves. 

The Rev. Gabriel Brute (afterward Bishop of Vin- 
cennes) when stationed as a priest at Emmittsburg, was 
accustomed to walk from that place to Baltimore, a dis- 
tance of sixty miles. A crust of bread, which he carried 
with him, and a glass of water formed his only refection 
on the way. 

I have known missionaries in the Carolinas who were 
obliged to carry on their backs the chapelle, or case 
containing the sacred vestments, as they traversed the 
mountains, visiting the scattered members of their flock, 
not knowing where they would obtain a scanty meal, nor 
where lay their head at night. Their physical sufferings, 
moreover, were in no small measure aggravated by the 
suspicion, and even hostility, with which they were re- 
garded by the Protestant community, who were then 
intensely prejudiced against the Catholic religion. 

A clergyman in North Carolina used playfully to 
remark that he could not afford to commit a mortal 
sin, as he had not sufficient means to resort for confes- 
sion to the nearest priest, who resided over one hundred 
miles from him. 

The Rev. Jacob A. Walter, who died in Washington, 
in 1894, was forty years a priest, and as poor on the day 
of his death as on that of his ordination. Whilst he was 
Rector of St. Patrick's Church, large sums of money fell 
; nto his hands; but none of it clung to them. It was 



THE SPIRIT OP POVERTY. 123 

distributed among the orphans, or secretly dispensed to 
the poor, and especially to genteel, but indigent appli- 
cants for office in the Departments, who daily called on 
him. Profuse in his hospitality to visiting clergy, his 
own private apartment w T as more destitute of ornaments 
and comforts than that of a seminarian. 

I have visited some of the Indian Missions of New 
Mexico, and have conversed with missionaries from 
Alaska. These self-denying men renounce the attrac- 
tions of civilized life. They share in the poverty and 
in the homely, even repulsive, fare of the tribes to whom 
they are sent to preach the Gospel. 

The acquisition of immense revenues and the display 
of courtly pomp on the part of many churchmen in some 
of the old monarchies of Europe, are easily explained, if 
not excused. In ages of military sway, especially when 
ministers of the Gospel were associated with the civil 
functionaries in upholding the authority of the govern- 
ment, public sentiment w T as not shocked or surprised at 
seeing the spiritual rulers sharing in some of the tem- 
poral possessions and earthly grandeur with which the 
civil power was surrounded. 

But no such plea can be advanced in our country where 
union of Church and State does not exist, where republi- 
can simplicity obtains, and where the dignity of Christ's 
representative is estimated not by his elevated rank or the 
extent of his wealth, but by the splendor of his virtues. 

1°. The first fruit, or practical application of poverty 
of spirit, consists in the exercise of judicious economy. 
We are to regard ourselves as the stewards rather than 
as the absolute owners of what we possess. What a 
beautiful double lesson of plain-living and frugality is 



J24 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

found in the Gospel recording the multiplication of 
loaves in the desert ! Five barley loaves and two fishes 
are miraculously multiplied to such an extent as to sup- 
ply the wants of five thousand men, besides women and 
children. First, they were barley loaves, the usual food 
of the common people, in contradistinction from wheaten 
bread, the food of the rich in those days. We may also 
assume that this was the ordinary food of Christ's disci- 
ples, as it was the only bread they carried with them. 
Secondly, God, our Saviour, infinite in creative power, 
who gives fecundity to the earth, who for forty years 
fed the Israelites in the wilderness, commands that the 
fragments of the bread be gathered up, "lest they be 
wasted, " It is not improbable that Christ Himself, 
as well as His disciples, were afterward sustained by 
these fragments. 

But God forbid that we should permit our habits of 
economy to degenerate into avarice, to savor of penuri- 
ousness, or to exempt us from the sacred duties of hospi- 
tality so strongly recommended in Sacred Scripture ! 
Parsimony is not economy. A priest may be actually 
poor, and yet like Judas devoured by the passion of 
covetousness. Another may abound in wealth, and yet 
possess a lofty spirit of detachment like St. Charles Bor- 
romeo. Genuine poverty of spirit consists in abstemi- 
ousness toward ourselves and generosity in responding to 
the calls of charity. "A man's poverty before God," 
says St. Augustine, " is judged by the disposition of his 
heart, and not by his coffers. God regards not the wealth, 
but the attachment to it." 

St. Francis de Sales had a large house in Annecy. 
But he habitually occupied a poor, dingy room, which he 



THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY. 125 

called Frauds' room. He had another, spacious and well- 
furnished, for the accommodation of his guests, and this 
he called the Bishop's room. 

When a priest is known to be a man of frugal and 
abstemious habits, his exhortations to his people to be 
patient in privation, will have immeasureably more weight 
than they would possess if he had the reputation of ac- 
cumulating money and indulging in sumptuous fare. 

2°. We should submit with patience, and even with 
cheerfulness, to the privations and discomforts which may 
be incident to the exercise of the ministry. Happy is he 
who can maintain the same composure of mind that the 
Apostle exhibited amid the vicissitudes of his laborious 
life: "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be 
content therewith. I know both how to be brought low, 
and I know how to abound : (everywhere and in all 
things I am instructed) both to be full and to be hungry; 
both to abound and to suffer need." l Would to God that 
every priest would, likewise, be content with his mission 
whether rich or poor, sparsely or densely populated, in the 
city or in the country ! 

I have known young lawyers and doctors, after they 
had graduated and entered on their professional career, to 
spend some years in very straitened circumstances, the 
former having few clients, the latter few patients to 
patronize them. If these young men endure without 
murmuring months and years of indigence; if they he- 
roically confront a cold and uusy mpathizing world, without 
a friend to cheer them or a patron to commend them to 
public favor, surely, young clergymen, who serve a morti- 
fied Master, ought not to yield to discontent and com- 

1 Phil. iv. 11, 12. 



126 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRTST. 

plaints when they are met by hardships in the work of 
the ministry. 

A commander selects for a post of danger and privation 
the bravest and most intrepid of his captains. In like 
manner, the bishop not unfrequently singles out for the 
poorest and most trying field the most devoted and self- 
denying missionary who is ready to endure the poverty 
and inconveniences of life ; for he knows how hurtful it 
would be to a mission to have assigned to it a priest who 
is wedded to the comforts of life, and who shrinks from 
hard labor and physical suffering. What a consolation 
are such generous souls to their chief pastor ! How 
precious are they in his sight ! They complain not that 
they do not receive the full salary commonly allowed to 
clergymen. Like the Apostle, they rejoice in their tribu- 
lation, and ever make merry over their discomforts. 
They are generally the happiest and most light-hearted 
of men, because they have the affection of their flock aud 
the testimony of a good conscience, which is infinitely 
more valuable than gold and silver. 

When did such servants of God ever want the neces- 
saries of life, and when were they reduced to the straits 
to which many young lawyers, physicians, aud literary 
men are sometimes subjected? The faithful, as a rule, 
are willing to share their last dollar with a devoted priest. 
Must not the poorest laborer in the Lord's vineyard be 
compelled to answer as the Apostles did when they were 
thus questioned by their Master : " When I sent you 
without purse and scrip and shoes, did you want any 
thing ? But they said, nothing." l 

1 Luke xxn. 35, 36. 



THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY. 127 

3°. It is a mark of great self-denial, as well as of 
Christian politeness, to cultivate a spirit of indifference 
regarding the food that is set before us, and to accommo- 
date ourselves to the circumstances in which we are placed, 
conformably with this injunction of our Lord: "In the 
same house remain, eating and drinking such things as 
they have." l Let us not make an unsavory and unin- 
viting meal more unpalatable by pouring on it the vinegar 
of discontent, but rather season it with the sauce of good 
humor and gentle breeding, never complaining of the 
meat that is served, nor making it the subject of con- 
versation. 

Christ manifested an absolute indifference about faring 
sumptuously or meagrely. To-day, He is entertained 
by Zaccheus with the choicest viands set before Him ; 
another day, He is living on barley bread and fishes 
with His disciples. He always deports Himself as a 
gentleman in the highest sense of the word. He never 
discusses the food, unless to make it the text of a 
nobler subject. 

It is true, indeed, that the diocesan priest makes no 
special vow of poverty. But it is equally true, that, at 
his ordination, he takes the Lord as the portion of his 
inheritance. To him may be truly applied the words 
addressed to the priests of the Old Law : " They shall 
have no inheritance, I am their inheritance ; neither shall 
you give them any possession in Israel, for I am their 
possession." 2 " He who has God for the portion of his 
heritage/' says St. Ambrose, " becomes the possessor of 
all nature, for with his Master he has become the master 
of the universe." He should be the master, not the slave, 

1 Luke x. 7. 2 Ezec. xliv. 28. 



128 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of wealth ; and he should not set his heart on the accumu- 
lation of money. 

Again, though it is difficult, and even impracticable, 
to carry out literally this injunction of our Lord, " Take 
neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money;" 1 never- 
theless, the principle of self-denial implied in these words 
always remains. They should serve, at least, to remind 
us that He is the Staff on which we are to lean, the 
Bread that is to sustain us, and the Treasure we are to 
prize above all earthly riches. 

Every priest would do well to ponder the words of 
Paul to his disciple Timothy : " Godliness with content- 
ment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this 
world, and certainly we can carry nothing out. But 
having food and wherewith to be covered, with these we 
are content. For they that will become rich, fall into 
temptation and into the snare of the devil, and into many 
unprofitable and hurtful desires which drown men into 
destruction and perdition. For the desire of money is 
the root of all evils; which some coveting have erred 
from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many 
sorrows. But thou, O man of God, fly these things; 
and pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mild- 
ness." 2 "Blessed is the rich man/' and thrice blessed is 
the priest, " that is found without blemish, and that hath 
not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in 
treasures. Who is he, and we will praise him? for he 
hath done wonderful things in his life. He shall have 
glory everlasting." 3 So rare and sublime is this virtue 
of detachment that its possessor is said by the Sacred 

1 Luke ix. 3. * I. Tim. vi. 6-1 1 :] Ecclus. xxxi 8-10. 



THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY. 129 

Writer to have accomplished wonders, yea, miracles of 
grace. Happy is the priest who can say from his heart 
with the Wise Man : O Lord, " give me neither beggary 
nor riches. Give me only the necessaries of life." 1 

The Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 2 as well as 
the Third Provincial Council of New York, earnestly 
recommends that clergymen should not die intestate, 
but should make their will while they are in the full 
possession of their faculties. By this prudent fore- 
sight, they can conscientiously and freely dispose of the 
means of which they may die possessed ; they will take 
precautions against expensive and scandalous litigations, 
and they will enable their executor to avoid the danger 
of confounding the revenues of the Church with their 
personal property. 

If, at the close of his life, the servant of God is pos- 
sessed of means, he will merit the benediction of Heaven, 
the praise of his flock, and the admiration of all good 
men, by leaving them to religious and charitable pur- 
poses, bequeathing to his family his blessing with some 
modest tokens of filial or fraternal affection. I have 
known several pious clergymen to have made this disposi- 
tion of their personal fortune. The memory of their good 
deeds is a more precious legacy than earthly possessions. 

No spectacle, on the other hand, is more disedifying 
than that of a priest dying rich, and leaving his inheri- 
tance to his family. He may violate no law of justice, 
but does he not do violence to the Catholic conscience? 
Does he not grieve his own spiritual children and com- 
pel them to the silence of charity when they would sound 

1 Prov. xxx. 8. 2 III. Plen. Council, No. 277. 

9 



130 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

his praise? Does he not arouse the unfavorable criti- 
cism of the public at large? 

I may conclude in the words of Cardinal Manning : 
" It is the part of honor in a good priest to die without 
sins, without debts, and without wealth acquired in the 
work of the ministry." 



CHAPTER XIII. 
Sacerdotal Chastity. 

CHASTITY is the most glorious, the most distinctive, 
and the most indispensable ornament of a priest. 
He might possess the faith of Abraham, the wisdom 
of Solomon, the piety of David, the zeal of Elias, the 
patience of Job, the apostolic heroism of John the Baptist, 
aud the eloquence of Paul, and yet his spiritual armor 
would be incomplete, if it were not crowned with the 
helmet of sacerdotal chastity. The other gifts and graces 
enumerated above, acquire additional lustre from the 
aureola of a stainless life. 

The minister of God should be pure in body : " I 
beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God," 
says St. Paul, "that you present your bodies a living 
sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God." l 

He ought to be chaste in speech and conversation : 
" But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let 
it not so much as be named among you, as becometh 
saints; or obscenity, or foolish talking, or scurrility." 2 
"But now, lay you also all away . . . filthy speech out 
of your mouth." 3 He should never, under pretence of 
entertaining and enlivening the company, indulge in con- 
versation or anecdotes that savor of immodesty ; because 

1 Rom. xir. 1. 2 Eph. v. 3, 4. 3 Col. in. 8. 

131 



132 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

though his remarks may seem harmless to himself, they 
may be hurtful to others. The lips that are the conse- 
crated organs of Christ's Gospel and that are daily purpled 
with the Blood of the Lamb, should never be defiled by 
indecorous language. Surely, the range of cheerful and 
diverting colloquy covers a field sufficiently large without 
trenching on forbidden ground. 

The priest should be pure in heart and mind : " Blessed 
are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." ! Purity 
of heart illumines the mind in the contemplation of God 
and in the investigation of heavenly truths ; while sensu- 
ality obscures the intellect, for " the animal man perceiveth 
not those things that are of the Spirit of God«." St. 
Thomas says : " The perfection of intellectual operation 
in man, consists in a certain abstraction from the phan- 
tasms of sensible things; and therefore, the more the 
intellect of man is free from these phantasms, the better 
it is able to consider intellectual subjects. Darkness of 
mind arises from carnal pleasures. Chastity, on the con- 
trary, singularly disposes a man for the perfection of 
mental pursuits." 2 Cleanness of heart not only enlightens 
the understanding, but it is a source of interior joy and 
tranquillity to the heart, by appeasing its passions ; while 
the opposite vice is the parent of melancholy. Not only 
an overt act, but even an unhallowed thought, or a com- 
placent contemplation of a sinful deed, is condemned by 
the more searching law of the Gospel. Our Saviour 
declares that whosoever looketh on a woman with an evil 
desire, "hath already committed adultery with her in his 
heart." 3 "Evil thoughts are an abomination to the 

1 Matt. v. 8. 2 2^ 2* Quaest. xv. Art iil 3 Matt. v. 28. 



SACERDOTAL CHASTITY. 133 

Lord : and pure words most beautiful shall be confirmed 
by Him." l Our speech is the echo of our thoughts. If 
our heart is undefiled, our language will be edifying ; for 
"from the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh." 
" Know you not," says the Apostle, " that you are the 
temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in 
you ? But if any man violate the temple of God, him 
shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which 
you are." 2 If the Christian laity, to whom these words 
were addressed, should be pure of heart, since they are 
the temple of God, how unsullied should be the soul of a 
priest who is the sanctuary of God ! 

" What a happiness," says St. Francis de Sales, " volun- 
tarily to observe chastity even in this life as the angels 
and blessed spirits observe it in heaven ! This virtue is 
so noble that it renders souls as fair as lilies and as pure 
as the sun. It consecrates the body and procures it the 
inestimable advantage of being entirely dedicated to the 
Divine Majesty, so as to be able to say, 'My heart and 
my flesh have rejoiced in the living God/ " 

The strongest incentive to a chaste life is furnished by 
the example and precepts of our Lord. He was born of 
a virgin Mother. He led a life of perpetual continence. 
He chose a virgin precursor in the person of the Baptist. 
He showed a special predilection for the virgin disciple 
John, and He selected Joseph to be the chaste consort of 
His Mother. 

It is a significant fact, that while Jesus permitted 
Himself to be accused of being a blasphemer, a Sabbath- 
breaker, a seditious man, a wine-bibber, a liar, and an 

^rov. xv. 26. 2 I. Cor. in. 16, 17. 



134 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

impostor, He never allowed the imputation of immorality 
to rest upon Him. 

In like manner, though He permitted His disciples to 
yield to sins of ambition, avarice, moral cowardice, dis- 
loyalty, and treachery, He shielded them from the sus- 
picion of impurity. 

Not only did He select continent men to be His dis- 
ciples and followers during His mission on earth, but He 
singled them out to be His cherished companions, and 
the assistants at His throne in His heavenly kingdom : 
"And I beheld : and lo a Lamb stood upon Mount Sion, 
and with Him an hundred forty-four thousand, . . . 
and they sung, as it were, a new canticle, before the 
throne, . . . and no man could say the canticle but those 
hundred forty-four thousand. . . . These are they who 
were not defiled with women ; for they are virgins. These 
follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." * 

In embracing a life of continence, we are anticipating 
the glorious and eternal state in the celestial Paradise, in 
which the saints "shall neither marry nor be married; 
but shall be as the angels of God in heaven." 2 

The sacred calling of a priest demands of him a life 
of chastity : " This is the will of God, your sanctifi cation, 
that you should abstain from fornication, that every one 
of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctifi- 
cation and honor, not in the passion of lust. . . . For 
God hath not called us unto uucleanness, but unto 
sanctification." 3 If the Apostle thus inculcates continence 
on the Christian laity, how much more imperatively is 
this virtue enjoined on the anointed minister, who conse- 

1 A poc. xiv. 1 , 3, 4. 2 Matt. xxn. 30. 8 1. Thess. iv. 3, 4, 5, 7. 



SACERDOTAL CHASTITY. 135 

crates himself to perpetual chastity by a solemn vow at 
his ordination, who is in daily contact with sacred things, 
and who ought to be a living exemplar of a pure life to 
others ? 

" Be ye clean, you that carry the vessels of the Lord." l 
If this commandment was given to the priests of the Old 
Law, how much more strictly are those of the New Law 
bound to be clean of heart, who daily offer up the spot- 
less Victim, and hold with uplifted hands the chalice of 
salvation, containing the immaculate Blood of Christ ! 

The hand of God fell with swift and terrible retribu- 
tion on the king of Babylon for touching with polluted 
lips the sacred vessels of Jerusalem's Temple. How 
much more grievous is the sacrilege of God's anointed 
who profanes the living vessel of his body, which was 
once irrevocably consecrated to the Lord ! 

u For know ye this and understand that no fornicator, 
or unclean, or covetous person (which is a serving of 
idols) hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of 
God. Let no man deceive you with vain words : for 
because of these things cometh the anger of God upon 
the children of unbelief." 2 If unchastity draws down 
vengeance so dire on the unbelieving world, how shall 
God's chosen minister escape who sins against the light? 

Chastity of life is precious not only in the sight of God, 
but also in the sight of men : " O how beautiful is the 
chaste generation with glory ! for the memory thereof is 
immortal, because it is known both with God and with 
men. It triumpheth crowned forever, winning the re- 
ward of undefiled conflicts." 3 The man of God who is 

1 Isaiah lii. 11. 2 Eph. v. 5, 6. 3 Wisd. iv. 1, 2. 



136 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

proof against the allurements of the flesh, is regarded 
by the community as a superior being ; for the greatest 
evidence of moral strength is self-control, and the highest 
manifestation of self-control is in the victory over the 
carnal appetite. 

He enjoys the esteem and admiration of the faithful. 
With what confidence the frail and erring members have 
recourse to him as to their spiritual physician, to obtain 
an antidote against the sins of the flesh from which he is 
happily exempt ! 

It is a well-known fact, that the priests of the Oriental 
Church, who, under certain circumstances, are permitted 
to marry, do not possess among the laity the same degree 
of influence or authority that the unmarried clergy enjoy. 

The priest's victory over the senses secures for him the 
glorious liberty of the sons of God, and his detachment 
from family cares enables him to devote himself with 
entire freedom to the service of his Master and of the 
people committed to his charge. %i I would have you/' 
says the Apostle, " to be without solicitude. He that is 
without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to 
the Lord, how he may please God." l 

On the other hand, there is no vice which people more 
abhor, which they are less disposed to condone than cleri- 
cal incontinence. The world, which is so indulgent to 
its own votaries, is unrelenting toward the ambassador 
of Christ who is unfaithful to his vows. A sin which it 
would easily pardon as an indiscretion if committed by 
a layman, it condemns as a sacrilege if perpetrated by a 
priest. O how hard it is for him to repair his reputation 
once it is sullied by a single stain ! 

1 1. Cor. vn. 32. 



SACERDOTAL CHASTITY. 137 

All transgressions, indeed, have a peculiar malice in a 
priest ; but incontinence is a moral leprosy that not only 
renders him loathsome in the eyes of God and man, but 
dulls the sense of decency and self-respect in himself. 
He has little regard for his reputation, for a healthy 
public opinion, or for the scandal he brings to the Church 
and her members. All these considerations he sacrifices 
on the altar of passion. 

Sensuality is the most seductive of all vices. It fasci- 
nates and blinds us, while aiming at accomplishing our 
ruin. Its pleasures are portrayed to the imagination as 
incomparably more delightful than they really are. It 
weakens and enslaves the will, aud diminishes or takes 
away our power of resistance. It makes us insensible to 
the danger, which is realized only after the fall. 

How precious, then, is the boon of chastity which 
delivers us from this degrading bondage of the flesh ! 
" But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the 
excellency may be of the power of God, and not of us." * 
Though the treasure is above all price, the vase which 
contains it is most frail and brittle ; though the virtue is 
the most indispensable, it is the most easily lost. It is a 
mirror which a breath may tarnish. It is a lily. Touch 
it, and " it withers on its stalk with languished head." 
It is like the snow of heaven which a little dust may 
stain. — But who will blanch the sullied snow of inno- 
cence ? 

The first step toward preserving and fostering this 
angelic virtue, is to value it at an inestimable price, and 
to have an earnest desire to cherish it. Our efforts are 
the measure of our desires, and our success is measured 

^I. Cor. rv. 7. 



138 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

by our exertions. You should have the same esteem for 
it that Solomon had for wisdom, and say from your 
heart : " I wished, and the spirit of chastity was given 
me. . . . And I preferred her before kingdoms and 
thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison with 
her. ... I loved her above health and beauty, and 
chose to have her instead of light. . . . Now all good 
things came to me together with her, and innumerable 
riches through her hands;" 1 yea, the riches of an upright 
conscience and joy of spirit. 

To this desire should be joined vigilance and prayer : 
"Watch ye and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." 2 
If our Lord says, "without Me ye can do nothing," He 
also declares, "My grace is sufficient for you." And if 
the Apostle asserts that we are unable of ourselves even 
to conceive a good thought, he also adds, "I can do all 
things in Him who strengthened me." 3 Assuredly, since 
we cannot entertain a pious thought without divine grace, 
we cannot hope without God's aid to cultivate the virtue 
which transcends human strength. 

To prayer should be united the mortification of the 
flesh, "always bearing about in our body the mortifica- 
tion of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made 
manifest in our bodies." 4 Chastity is a fragrant flower 
that blooms among the thorns of self-denial. When our 
Lord had expelled the demon from the body of the pos- 
sessed man, His disciples asked Him why they could not 
exercise that power. He answered: "This kind is not 
cast out but by prayer and fasting." 5 As we cannot 
exorcise the demon of impurity from other men but by 

1 Wisd. vn, 7, 8, 10, 11. B Phil. iv. 1 3. 5 Matt. xvn. 20. 

2 Matt. xxvi. 41. 4 II. Cor. iv. 1Q. 



SACERDOTAL CHASTITY. 139 

mortification coupled with prayer, neither can we secure 
ourselves against his assaults except by self-abnegation 
combined with pious supplication. The Pontiff thus 
addresses the candidates on the day of ordination : "As 
you expel demons from the bodies of others, so will you 
endeavor to ward off all uncleanness and iniquity from 
your mind and body, lest you succumb to those whom 
you put to flight by your ministry." x 

Gluttony and intemperance are great incentives to 
impurity. "Take heed to yourselves," says our Lord, 
"that perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeit- 
ing and drunkenness." 2 St. Paul associates satiety in 
meat and strong drinks with licentious habits : " Let us 
walk," he says, "honestly, as in the day, not in rioting 
and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities." 1 " 

" Be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury, but be 
ye filled with the Holy Spirit." 4 "I will never regard 
the drunkard as a chaste man," says St. Jerome. " This 
is my conscientious conviction ; I care not who says the 
contrary." He also observes that Lot, who had been 
proof against the abominations of Sodom, yielded to the 
lecherous influence of wine, so far as to commit an 
incestuous crime. 

Be habitually engaged in some useful and healthful 
occupation; "for idleness hath taught much evil." 5 
"Adam, while living in idleness," says St. Chrysostom, 
" fell from the earthly paradise; Paul, in labor and hard- 
ships, was lifted up to the third heaven." There is no 
crime recorded of David while he was actually engaged 

1 Tn Ordin. Exorcist. 3 Eom. xiti 13. 5 Ecclus. xxxiii. 29. 

2 Luke xxi. 34. 4 Eph. v. 18. 



140 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

in the field; he was betrayed into the sin of adultery 
while living at home in indolent luxury. Our imagina- 
tion is constantly receiving impressions from the outer 
world. Our soul is vitiated and defiled, or it is purified 
and ennobled, according as these impressions are degrad- 
ing or elevating in their character. 

The mind is an active principle, a restless faculty. If 
it is not engrossed by righteous and wholesome considera- 
tions, it is apt to descend to thoughts of a vain, frivolous, 
and even criminal nature. The soul, like the body, is 
affected by the food it consumes and by the atmosphere 
that it breathes. 

Avoid the occasions of sin. " He that loveth danger 
shall perish in it." 1 Keep custody over your senses, 
which are the avenues leading to the citadel of the soul. 
If the avenues are left unguarded, the enemy can easily 
enter and take possession of the spiritual fortress. A 
wanton glance was the occasion of David's fall. His 
bitter experience prompted him afterward to exclaim : 
"Turn away my eyes, that they may not behold vanity." 2 

Lastly, if you would preserve the angelic virtue of 
virginal integrity, be vigilant and circumspect on all 
occasions. Be ever animated by a salutary fear of the 
Lord. There should be no truce to this vigilance and 
fear. It should abide with you during your whole life, 
for neither length of years, nor robust virtue, nor acquired 
merits, nor exalted reputation for sanctity affords an abso- 
lute guarantee against a fall. We are neither stronger 
than Samson, nor holier than David, nor wiser than 
Solomon, and yet all these three yielded to this slippery 

1 Ecclus. in. 27. * Ps. cxvni. 37. 



SACERDOTAL CHASTITY. 141 

vice. It was in his old age that the heart of Solomon 
became depraved. 1 

"Believe me/' says St. Augustine, " I speak the truth 
in Christ, I lie not, I have seen the cedars of Libanus, 
and the leaders of the flock fall, whose ruin I no more 
expected than I would that of Gregory Nazianzen or of 
Ambrose. " 

But let this fear be tempered with confidence in God. 
He will be your friend and protector ; for " he that 
loveth cleanness of heart shall have .... the King for 
his friend." 2 Be encouraged by the words' of our Lord : 
" My grace is sufficient for thee ; for power is made per- 
fect in infirmity." 

Your ministerial life will, indeed, bring you daily face 
to face with moral evil in the confessional, on sick calls, 
and in your necessary intercourse with persons of a disso- 
lute life. But God, who calls you to be the souPs 
physician, to cleanse the leprosy of sin, to be a light to 
them that are in darkness, to purify the poisonous at- 
mosphere, will make you proof against its infection. 
While engaged in the faithful discharge of your duty, 
you may rely with confidence on your Master. " There 
shall no evil come to thee, nor shall the scourge come 
near thy dwelling. For He hath given His angels charge 
over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Thou shalt walk 
upon the asp and the basilisk, and thou shalt trample 
under foot the lion and the dragon." 3 Though in re- 
sponse to the call of duty you walk through haunts 
reeking with vice, God will protect you even as He 
protected Daniel in the lions' den, and the three children 

1 III. Kings xi. 2 Prov. xxn. 11, 3 Ps. xc. 10, 11, 13, 



142 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

in the fiery furnace, so that your garments of innocence 
will not be scorched by the flames of wantonness that 
encircle you. 

Milton pays the following beautiful tribute to the 
majestic power of this angelic virtue : 

" She that has chastity is clad in complete steel, 
And like a quivered nymph with arrows keen, 
May trace huge forests and unharbored heaths, 
Infamous hills, and sandy perilous wilds ; 
Where through the sacred rays of chastity, 
No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer, 
Will dare to soil her virgin purity. 
Yea, there where very desolation dwells, 
By grots and caverns shagged with horrid shades, 
She may pass on with unblenched majesty, 
Be it not done in pride or in presumption. 
So dear to heaven is faintly chastity 
That, when a soul is found sincerely so, 
A thousand liveried angels lackey her, 
Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt, 
And in clear dream and solemn vision 
Tell her of things that no gross ear can hear; 
Till oft converse with heavenly habitants 
Begin to cast a beam on the outward shape, 
The unpolluted temp'e of the mind, 
And turns it by degrees to the soul's essence, 
Till all be made immortal." l 

Blessed are you in having been specially chosen by 
your Lord to walk from your youth in the paths of 
righteousness ; in being privileged like John to lean on 
your Master's breast; in being freed from the tumult 
of domestic passions and the rebellion of the senses. 
Happy are you that your flesh is subject to the law of 

1 Milton's Comm. 



SACERDOTAL CHASTITY. 143 

reason and of the Spirit of God, and that the kingdom 
of Christ, the kingdom of peace and Christian liberty, 
is within you. 

More glorious is our triumph in conquering self than 
if we had taken cities. " Thanks be to God, who hath 
given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." * 



I Cor. xv. 57. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
Humility. 

GENUINE humility consists not in disclaiming any 
good in ourselves, but in ascribing all our gifts of 
nature and grace to the Author of our being. This idea 
is admirably expressed by the Apostle when he says : 
"Such confidence we have, through Christ towards God. 
Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, 
as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God." 1 "For 
if any man think himself to be something, whereas he is 
nothing, he deceiveth himself." 2 "But he that glorieth 
let him glory in the Lord. For not he who commendeth 
himself, is approved, but he whom God commendeth." 3 

Christ has taught us this great virtue by His life and 
examples, as well as by His precepts. " Learn of Me," 
He says, " because I am meek and humble of heart." 4 
As St. Augustine remarks, He does not say : " Learn of 
Me to construct the world, to create all things visible and 
invisible, to work miracles, and to raise the dead, but 
that I am meek and humble of heart." He is born in a 
stable ; He is circumcised as a sinner. When the people 
desire to exalt Him and crown Him King, He withdraws 
from them and hides Himself. When they resolve to 

1 II. Cor. in. 4, 5. 3 II. Cor. x. 17, 18. 

2 Gal. vi. 3. 4 Matt. xi. 29, 

144 



HUMILITY. 145 

degrade and vilify Him, He confronts them and bows to 
the humiliation. Only three men behold Him in His 
glorious transfiguration, and even they are commanded 
by Him to be silent on the subject till after His resur- 
rection ; the populous and crowded city of Jerusalem was 
a witness of His degradation. He performs the menial 
task of washing His disciples' feet after the Last Supper, 
and then He delivers to them this beautiful instruction : 
" Know you what I have done to you ? You call Me 
Master and Lord ; and you say well, for so I am. If 
then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your 
feet ; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I 
have given you an example, that as I have done to you, 
so you do also." l 

But what humiliation can be compared with the In- 
carnation of our Saviour and His shameful death on the 
cross ? " Let nothing," says the Apostle, " be done 
through contention, neither by vain-glory : but in hu- 
mility, let each esteem others better than themselves: each 
one not considering the things that are his own, but those 
that are other men's. For let this mind be in you, which 
was also in Christ Jesus ; who being in the form of God, 
thought it not robbery, to be equal with God ; but emp- 
tied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in 
the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He 
humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to 
the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath 
exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is above 
all names; that in the name of Jesus every knee should 
bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the 
earth; and that every tongue should confess that the Lord 

1 John xm. 12-15. 
10 



146 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father." x What 
stronger incentive can we have to self-abasement than the 
reflection that the more we are humbled for justice' sake, 
the more conformable we become to Christ, the most per- 
fect type of manhood ! 

Our Lord says of Himself: "I seek not My own glory; 
there is one that seeketh and judgeth .... If I glorify 
Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father that glori- 
fieth Me." 2 As our Saviour was content to have His 
glory vindicated by His eternal Father, so our honor and 
good name are secure in the hands of God. 

We find our Redeemer repeatedly condemning the pride 
of the Pharisees, rebuking the ambition of His disciples, 
and profiting by every occasion to guard them against 
vain-glory and to insinuate lessons of humility. He tells 
the Jews that their desire for human applause is the great- 
est obstacle to their acceptance of the Gospel message : 
" How can you believe, who receive glory one from an- 
other, and the glory which is from God alone you do not 
seek? " 3 He says on the other hand, that child-like sim- 
plicity and lowliness of mind are the best dispositions for 
illumining the intellect and enabling it to apprehend the 
truths of divine revelation: " I confess to Thee, O Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hidden these 
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them 
to little ones. Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in 
Thy sight." 4 

The two sons of Zebedee besought our Lord, through 
the mediation of their mother, to obtain for them the 
highest places in His earthly kingdom, which, they im- 

1 Phil. n. 3-11. 3 Ibid. v. 44. 

2 John viii. 50, 54. 4 Luke x. 21. 



HUMILITY. 147 

agined, was to be surrounded by all the pomp of regal 
splendor: "Say" she asked, "that these my two sons 
may sit, the one on Thy right hand, and the other on 
Thy left, in Thy kingdom." Turning to them, He re- 
plied : " You know not what you ask." * " My kingdom 
is not of this world." "The kingdom of heaven suffer- 
eth violence, and the violent bear it away." And as an 
evidence that jealousy and contention pursue the am- 
bitious man, as the shadow follows the substance, " the 
ten hearing it, were moved with indignation against the 
two brothers." 

Alas ! is not the intercession of friends and relatives 
still sought for the promotion of churchmen? And is not 
our ambition less excusable than was that of the Apostles? 
— for the enlightening and purifying day of Pentecost, 
which had not yet dawned upon them, has shone upon us 
with meridian splendor. 

When the first priests of the New Law had " a dispute 
among themselves which of them seemed to be the great- 
est," our Lord administered to them the following lesson 
of humility, fortified by His own example: "The kings 
of the Gentiles lord it over them : and they that have 
power over them, are called beneficent. But you, not so : 
but he that is the greater among you, let him become as 
the younger ; and he that is the leader, as he that serv- 
eth. For which is the greater, he that sitteth at table, or 
he that serveth ? Is not he that sitteth at table ? But I 
am in the midst of you as he that serveth." 2 The empti- 
ness of vain-glory is insinuated in the text. The Apos- 
tles contend among themselves, not as to which of them 

1 Matt. xx. 21, 22. 2 Luke xxn. 25-27. 



148 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

was, in reality, the greatest in virtue, zeal, and good 
works, but which of them should seem, to be so in 
public estimation. 

We may judge how selfish and insatiable is the spirit 
of ambition, and how painful to the sensitive nature of 
Christ was the contention of the Apostles, from the cir- 
cumstance that their strife for preeminence occurred at the 
time He had washed their feet, and a few hours before 
His shameful death. Are not some priests actuated by 
the same unholy emulation by contending for a vacant 
post of honor, or by even setting their heart upon it, while 
its incumbent is yet lingering between life and death ? 

On another occasion, when the Apostles abruptly ask our 
Lord, " Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?" — 
He holds up a child as a model of humility, because in- 
fancy is usually exempt from the fever of ambition, vain- 
glory, envy, and jealousy, which agitates the breasts of the 
proud and overbearing. "And Jesus calling unto Him 
a little child, set him in the midst of them, and said : 
Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become 
as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom 
of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself 
as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of 
heaven." l 

And what are the grounds of our self-complacency ? 
" What hast thou," says the Apostle, " that thou hast not 
received ? And if thou hast received, why dost thou glory, 
as if thou hadst not received it ? " 2 Surely, we cannot 
claim an absolute ownership nor glory in the possession 
of those gifts of which we have only an uncertain tenure, 

1 Matt, xviii. 2-4. 2 I. Cor. iv. 7. 



HUMILITY. 149 

and which may be wrested from us at any moment. The 
beast of burden is not ennobled nor puffed up by the 
precious wares it may carry. And that we have been 
chosen as vessels of honor, should be to us a subject not 
of vain-glory, but of humble gratitude. 

Let us briefly enumerate the principal gifts of nature 
and of grace we have received from God, and we can 
easily conclude from the uncertainty of the ownership, 
how vain it is for us to exult in their possession. 

How can we boast of health and physical beauty, which 
can be impaired and disfigured by a brief illness ? It is 
folly to take complacency in our talents and mental ac- 
complishments; for the brightest intellect is clouded by 
sickness, darkened by old age, and extinguished by death. 
Neither can we flatter ourselves on being the objects of 
public esteem and adulation; for we all know from obser- 
vation and the light of history, if not from personal ex- 
perience, how subtle and evanescent is the breath of popu- 
lar favor, and how ephemeral and capricious is human 
applause. A great prelate "that once trod the ways of 
glory, and sounded all the depths and shoals of honor/' 
that basked in the sunshine of royal smiles and courtly 
homage, exclaimed when his sun was suddenly set : 

" Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition ; 
By that sin fell the angels, how can man then, 
The image of his Maker, hope to win by 't? " 

It would be great presumption for any man to glory 
in his spiritual gifts, when he recalls the fate of a Solo- 
mon or a Judas. " Let not the wise man glory in his 
wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength, 
and let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him 



150 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and 
knoweth Me." 1 

As " pride is hateful before God and men," 2 so is hu- 
mility loved and cherished in heaven and on earth. So 
great is the value attached to this virtue, so amiable and 
attractive is it in public estimation, that we all desire to 
pass for humble men, we shrink from the imputation of 
haughtiness, and the proudest man is anxious to hide his 
vain-glory under the veil of a modest deportment. 

Humility is the foundation of peace and tranquillity. 
" Learn of Me," says our Saviour, " because I am meek 
and humble of heart, and you will find rest to your 
souls." 3 It was only when Wolsey lost the favor of the 
King and the Court, and when all hopes of worldly 
ambition were blasted, that he turned to God, in Whom 
he enjoyed solid peace and repose : 

" Cromwell How does your Grace ? 
Wolsey. Why, well ; 

Never so truly liappy, my good Cromwell. 
I know myself now ; and I feel within me 
A peace above all earthly dignities, 
A still and quiet conscience. The King has cured me; 
I humbly thank his grace; and from these shoulders, 
These ruin'd pillars, out of pity taken 
A load that would sink a navy, too much honor : 
O 't is a burden, Cromwell, 't is a burden, 
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven." 4 

If we examine the sources of our troubles and agita- 
tions, we find that they almost invariably spring from a 
desire of appreciation or a fear of contempt. A man that 

1 Jer. ix. 23, 24. 3 Matt. XL 29. 

* Ecclus. x. 7. * Shakspeare, Henry Y1II. 



HUMILITY. 151 

has a clear insight into his own heart, and that is free 
from restless ambition, is not much disquieted by injuri- 
ous words, or by the withdrawal of esteem, because he is 
not over-pained that others should see him as lie sees 
himself, and he is not unduly troubled by the loss of 
honor to which he was not inordinately attached. 

Meekness is the sister of humility, and our Lord says : 
" Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land " l 
of their own heart. 

All men have, indeed, an unquenchable thirst for honor; 
and as this desire is universal, it must have been implanted 
in our breast by Almighty God. It cannot, therefore, be 
unlawful. Our fault lies in seeking human instead of 
divine glory. Now, the road of humility is the path to 
true glory. 

Under the parable of a marriage-feast, our Lord 
insinuates the preeminent distinction which the hum- 
ble-minded will enjoy in the celestial banquet of the 
great King: "When thou art invited to a wedding, 
go, sit down in the lowest place, that when he who 
invited thee cometh, he may say to thee : Friend, go 
up higher. Then shalt thou have glory before them 
that sit at table with thee. Because every one that 
exalteth himself, shall be humbled: and he that hum- 
bleth himself, shall be exalted." 2 "He hath regarded 
the humility of His handmaid; for behold from hence- 
forth all generations shall call me blessed. . . . He hath 
put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted 
the humble." 3 "God resisteth the proud, but to the 
humble He giveth grace. Be you humbled therefore 

1 Matt. v. 4. * Luke xiv. 10, 11. 3 Ibid. i. 48, 52. 



152 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you 
in the time of visitation." * 

St. Paul expressly declares that the sublime exaltation 
in heaven of the Man-God over angels and archangels, 
principalities and powers, and all that is not God, is the 
reward of the unparalleled depths of humiliation to which 
He descended when on earth : " He humbled Himself, 
becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the 
cross. For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and 
hath given Him a name which is above all names : that 
in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that 
are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and that 
every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ 
is in the glory of God the Father." 2 

Our Blessed Redeemer in His sermon on the Mount, 
bids us avoid ostentation in our works of religion and 
charity. He declares that they who perform such acts 
with the view of courting popular admiration, cannot 
hope for an eternal recompense : " Take heed that you 
do not your justice before men to be seen by them : other- 
wise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is 
in heaven. Therefore when thou dost an alms-deed, 
sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in 
the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be 
honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received 
their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left 
hand know what thy right hand doth, that thy alms may 
be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret, will 
repay thee. And when ye pray, you shall not be as the 
hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues 

l L Pet. v. 5, 6. "Phil. ii. 8-11. 



HUMILITY. 153 

and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. 
Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. 
But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, 
and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret, 
and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee." * 



1 Matt. vi. 1-6. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Humility Specially Incumbent on Priests. — 

Entirely Compatible with Magnanimity. — 

The Practice op Humility. 

MANY of the arguments in the foregoing chapter in 
favor of Christian humility apply to priest and 
layman alike. But there are special reasons which make 
it incumbent on the ministers of God to exercise this 
fundamental virtue. 

The priest occupies a conspicuous place in the comrau- 
munity. He is set upon a pinnacle where he is revered 
by his own flock, and is usually respected and admired 
even by those who are not of the household of the faith. 
He is addressed by many endearing and honorable titles. 
He is called Reverend Father, the Shepherd of Souls, the 
Judge of Faith and Morals, Spiritual Physician, the Min- 
ister of Christ, and the Dispenser of the Mysteries of 
God. Not only does he preside in the church, but the 
place of honor is generally accorded to him in assemblies 
and banquets. His sermons, even though they should 
not rise above mediocrity, are often extolled as eloquent 
productions. Many are disposed to flatter him, while 
few are bold enough to remind him of his faults. 

Raised to such lofty heights, is he not in danger of 
growing dizzy, and of exaggerating his own merits? 
Need we be surprised at the frequent admonitions to 
154 



THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY. 155 

humbleness of heart he receives from our Lord and the 
Holy Ghost in the Sacred Volume? " He that is the 
greater among you," says Christ to His Apostles, " let 
him become as the younger ; and he that is the leader, as 
he that serveth." * ■ " Have they made thee ruler {or 
rector)*? be not lifted up. Be among them as one of 
them." 2 " The greater thou art, the more humble thy- 
self in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God ; 
for great is the power of God alone, and He is honored 
by the humble." 3 When the seventy -two disciples, on 
returning from their missionary labors, said to Jesus : 
" Lord, even the devils are subject to us in Thy name ; " 
though their language seemed to be a tribute only to our 
Saviour's power, and the outpouring of grateful hearts, 
yet He cautions them against vain-glory by saying to 
them : "I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven. 
Behold, I have given you power. . . . But yet rejoice 
not in this, that spirits are subject unto you ; but rejoice 
in this, that your names are written in heaven." 4 He 
tells them in another place, that even after they have 
performed their duty to the best of their ability, far from 
being elated by success, they should have an eye on their 
shortcomings, and regard themselves as unworthy minis- 
ters : " When you shall have done all these things that are 
commanded you, say : We are unprofitable servants." 5 

I desire here to meet an objection that may have 
occurred to your mind while reading the preceding lines. 
May you not be entertaining a lurking suspicion that 
humility is a servile and ignoble virtue, degrading to a 

x Luke xxn. 26. 2 " Rectorem tefecerunt" Ecclus. xxxn. 1. 

3 Ibid. in. 20, 21. 4 Luke x. 18-20. 5 Ibid. xvn. 10. 



156 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

freeman and destructive of noble aims ? But this preju- 
dice rests on no solid foundation. Genuine humility is 
stamped with the nobility of truth. It is not only per- 
fectly compatible with magnanimity, but is even insepa- 
rable from it. It has high and noble aspirations ; it is 
not discouraged by failures, nor put to flight by obstacles 
and persecutions, nor dismayed and crushed by humilia- 
tions. It displays a moral heroism under the most for- 
midable adversity. It is equal to every emergency, 
because its trust is in God and in the righteousness of its 
cause. 

St. Thomas points out the intimate connection between 
humility and magnanimity. The former, he says, checks 
and curbs the mind, that it run not to excess after high 
things ; the latter strengthens the mind against despair, 
and urges it on to the prosecution of great enterprises. 1 

St. Paul is an admirable model of humility combined 
with greatness of soul. No man had a clearer insight 
into his own frailties ; yet no man had a loftier ambition 
to accomplish great undertakings. In one breath, he says 
of himself: " I am as one born out of due time. For I 
am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be 
called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of 
God." In the next breath he adds : " But by the grace 
of God, I am what I am, and His grace in me hath not 
been void, but I have labored more abundantly than all 
they : yet not I, but the grace of God with me." 2 Again 
he says : " To me, the least of all the saints, is given this 
grace, to preach among the gentiles the unsearchable 
riches of Christ." 3 

1 2 a , 2«, Qusestio lxi. Art. i. ■ I. Cor. xv. 10. 3 Eph. in. 8. 



THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY. 157 

Neither contempt and ridicule, nor scourging and 
stoning, nor prison and shackles can break his spirit 
or make him lose heart. On the other hand, neither 
visions nor revelations, nor the admiration of his disciples, 
nor the marvellous success of his ministry can elate him 
or disturb the equanimity of his soul. He takes things 
as they come with a single eye to God : " I know," he 
says, " both how to be brought low, and I know how to 
abound. I can do all things in Him who strengthened 
me." 1 

In fact, a profound self-abasement resulting from a 
consciousness of his own weakness, joined to nobility of 
soul springing from his trust in God, is the key-note of 
the Apostle's life. This twin sentiment confronts us in 
many passages of his Epistles. It is the secret of his 
strength. The Lord said to him : " My grace is suffi- 
cient for thee ; for power is made perfect in weakness." 
"Gladly, therefore," adds the Apostle, "will I glory in 
my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 
For which cause I please myself in my infirmities, in 
reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for 
Christ; for when I am weak, then am I powerful." 2 

He seems to have himself in view, when he speaks thus 
of the Apostles : " The weakness of God is stronger than 
men. . . . The foolish things of the world hath God 
chosen, that He may confound the wise ; and the weak 
things of the world hath God chosen, that he may con- 
found the strong; and the base things of the world, and the 
things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things 
that are not, that no flesh should glory in His sight." 3 

1 Phil. iv. 1 2, 13. 2 II. Cor. xii. 9, 10. ■ L Cor. i. 25-29. 



158 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Writing to Timothy, he says : " I was before a blas- 
phemer and a persecutor and contumelious. But I ob- 
tained the mercy of God. ... A faithful saying, and 
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. But for 
this cause have I obtained mercy, that in me first Christ 
Jesus might show forth all patience, for the information 
of them that shall believe in Him unto life everlasting." l 

The founders of Religious Orders had to pass through 
the rough sea of humiliations and contradictions before 
they established their communities on a solid basis. No 
one can read the lives of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ber- 
nard, St. Ignatius, St. Vincent de Paul, or St. Alphonsus, 
without being convinced that, had they not been clothed 
with the triple armor of humility, magnanimity, and con- 
fidence in God, they would have abandoned their work 
in despair. 

But if you are content with possessing diffidence in 
yourself by the mere consideration of your frailties and 
shortcomings, without acquiring a strong trust in God, 
you will be easily discouraged by the least opposition; 
you will be a moral coward ; you will be morbidly sensi- 
tive to criticism ; you will hesitate to launch out into the 
deep, from the fear of encountering the winds of envy and 
jealousy, and will be satisfied with hugging the shore; 
you will pursue the beaten path of mediocrity, and will 
not dare to open up and explore new fields of labor. In 
a word, the priest that combines self-knowledge with trust 
in God, is like a rock that stands unshaken amid the rag- 
ing billows; while he that has humility without divine 
confidence, is like a log that drifts about with the tide. 

l L Tim. i. 13-16. 



THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY. 159 

A few words in conclusion on the practice of humility 
and the means of acquiring it. It is a good rule to speak 
rarely of self, either approvingly or even disparagingly; 
for self-condemnation is too often only a bait thrown out 
to catch a word of praise. The most odious form of 
pride is the " pride that apes humility." Those that are 
habitually underrating their ow r n merits and confessing 
their imperfections, would not be pleased if they were 
taken at their word. A lady who had invited a clergy- 
man to tea offered him some biscuits, saying apologetically 
that she feared they were not fit to eat as she had made 
them herself. Her guest, with more frankness than dis- 
cretion, and without the fear of an angry woman before 
his eyes, said on tasting them that they might, indeed, be 
better. " They are good enough for you, sir," was the 
quick retort of the lady. 

If you are commended for a good deed, reflect how im- 
perfectly you may have performed it, and dread the sentence 
of Christ : " Amen, they have received their reward." If 
you are unjustly accused, be silent or defend yourself with 
moderation, remembering that the false imputation is more 
than counterbalanced by the fulsome eulogies you have 
often received. I may add that a minister of the Gospel 
may, without prejudice to humility, earnestly assert and 
vindicate his patriotism and his civil and political rights 
when they are unjustly assailed, as Paul did when he 
protested against the indignity of being scourged, because 
he was a Roman citizen. It is, I think, likewise an im- 
perative duty of a clergyman to defend himself from false 
and injurious aspersions on his character, whenever his 
humiliation and disgrace affect not only his own good 
name, but also the interests of religion, of which he is an 



160 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

acknowledged minister. Peter promptly repudiated the 
charge of intoxication brought against the Apostles by 
some of their hearers in Jerusalem. 

We may, also, become more humble-minded by observ- 
ing the good points in our neighbor's character. I have 
never spent a considerable time in the company of any 
priest or layman, without forming comparisons to his ad- 
vantage, and to my own disparagement. 

In the exercise of this virtue, we should consider our 
triple relation, — to our superiors, to our brethren in the 
ministry, and to the people. We should be reverential to 
superiors, deferential to equals, and condescending to our 
inferiors in rank or in station of life. 

Our Saviour in the midst of the doctors in the Tem- 
ple, is a Pattern of the respect and submission that 
we owe our superiors and elders in the ministry. He 
modestly listens to the doctors; He proposes and answers 
questions as becomes a junior; but though He is Wis- 
dom incarnate, He does not dogmatize or assume the 
role of a teacher. 

The demeanor of the clergy toward one another should 
be marked by sincere courtesy and civility, " in honor pre- 
ferring one another." Such respectful homage contributes 
very much to foster mutual charity and good fellowship. 
While slow to take umbrage at a bantering word which 
may cause you some momentary confusion, you should 
be careful not to retaliate by putting the humble forbear- 
ance of your brother to a similar test. While Socrates 
was dining on one occasion with Plato and a number of 
friends, he happened to rebuke publicly one of the guests. 
"Would it not have been better," said Plato, "to have 
administered this censure in secret?" "Yes," replied 



THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY. 161 

Socrates, " but would not you, also, have done much bet- 
ter to have reminded me of my fault in private?" 

St. Peter, in his first Epistle, gives a striking illustra- 
tion of loving condescension to subordinates : " The pres- 
byters, therefore, that are among you, I beseech, who am 
myself also a presbyter, .... feed the flock of God which 
is among you, .... neither as lording it over the clergy, 
but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart." 1 
How modest and respectful is the language in which the 
Apostle addresses the clergy ! The Prince of the Apostles, 
the Leader of the whole Church of God, calls the priests 
not by a title inferior to his own; but he entreats them as 
his associates and fellow-laborers in the vineyard of the 
Lord. How well calculated is such condescension to win 
the hearts and command the adhesion of his subordinates, 
and what added force is given to the injunction by his 
own example ! The words of the Apostle contain a beau- 
tiful lesson to pastors to avoid imperiousness of manner in 
their relations with the junior clergy and the people. 

Meditation on the life of Christ and on the words of 
Holy Scripture inculcating humility, is an excellent means 
for acquiring that virtue ; but hard knocks of humiliation 
are better still. The one instructs in the theory, the other 
in the practice of humility. As patience is acquired by 
suffering, and science by study, so is humility learned by 
humiliations. 

There are three kinds of humiliations. The first com- 
prises those which we voluntarily impose on ourselves; 
and they are good. But these self-inflicted strokes are 
usually few and far between. They are light and tender, 
and we seldom wince or smart under such discipline. 

1 I. Pet. v. 1-3. 
11 



162 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

The second embraces those humiliations administered 
by our lawful superior ; and they are better, because con- 
fusion is more keenly felt when our delinquencies are 
denounced by one in authority over us, than when secretly 
deplored and punished by ourselves. But this medicine 
is generally dispensed by superiors in homoeopathic doses, 
and the pills are sugar-coated out of a delicate regard for 
the patient's sensibilities, and a fear of irritating his bile. 

The third kind includes those that we encounter in the 
daily discharge of our duties. Such humiliations are the 
best, because they are not of our own selection. They are 
rarely foreseen, and they are inflicted on us without any 
regard to our personal feelings. They are a drastic medi- 
cine which goes to the root of the disease. They are sent 
by a dkect visitation of God, or they come to us, by 
divine permission, from the malice of men whom God 
uses as His instruments to subdue our rebellious spirit, to 
draw us to Himself, and to make us more "conformable 
to the image of His Son." 

It has been truly said that one ounce of humiliation 
and correction from the hand of another, is more profit- 
able than a hundredweight that is self-imposed. 

To this abasement was David subjected when he was 
rebuked by the Prophet Nathan and cursed by Semei. 
He bent his back like a man to the chastening rod. To 
the denunciation of the prophet, he humbly replies without 
any extenuation of his crimes: "I have sinned against 
the Lord." When Semei curses him, and throws stones 
at him in his flight from his son Absalom, he says to his 
servants who sought to kill his tormentor : " Let him 
alone and let him curse : for the Lord hath bid him curse 
David. Perhaps the Lord may look upon my affliction, 



THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY. 163 

and the Lord may render me good for the cursing of this 
day." x 

Like the Royal Prophet, we have all offended Thee, 
O Lord, more or less grievously. With him, therefore, 
we shall say when words of reproach and contumely arise 
against us : "Before I was humbled, I offended; therefore 
have I kept Thy word. It is good for me that Thou 
hast humbled me, that I may learn Thy justifications." 2 



II. Kings xvi. 10-12. 2 Ps. cxvin. 67, 71 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Ambassador of Christ should be a Learned 
Man. — Solitude and Silence the Hand- 
maids of Study. 

WHEN Almighty God established the ancient priest- 
hood, the first commandment He gave to the 
priests was, that they should be thoroughly instructed in 
the divine law : " It is an everlasting precept through 
your generations, that you may have knowledge to dis- 
cern between holy and unholy, between unclean and 
olean, and may teach the children of Israel all My 
ordinances which the Lord hath spoken to them by the 
hand of Moses." 1 As the Hebrew priests were enjoined 
to enlighten the people on the moral and ceremonial law, 
so are the priests of the New Dispensation required to 
have adequate knowledge for instructing their flocks in 
the precepts of the Gospel, and to solve their doubts on all 
questions of faith and morals and ecclesiastical discipline. 
"The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they 
shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel 
of the Lord of hosts." 2 The word keep in the text is 
significant. The priest must be not merely the organ or 
mouthpiece, but also the custodian and depository of the 
law. He should not content himself with cramming for 

1 Levit.x. 9-11. 2 Mal. ii. 7. 

164 



LEARNING ESSENTIAL FOR A PRIEST. 165 

the occasion, but his mind should be abundantly stored 
with knowledge, so that he may be able to impart it in 
season to the searchers after truth. ? Drink water out 
of thine own cistern," says the Book of Proverbs, "and 
the streams of thine own well. Let thy fountains be 
conveyed abroad, and in the streets divide thy waters." * 

The priests of the New Law should excel those of the 
Old Law as much in knowledge, as they surpass them in 
dignity and power. Hence, our Saviour says to His 
Apostles : " To you it is given to know the mystery of 
the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables." 2 It 
is your sacred duty and particular privilege to be inti- 
mately acquainted with the hidden truths of the Gospel. 
Now, we know that the knowledge of God's law is not 
communicated to His ministers by a special revelation, 
but that it is acquired only by arduous labor. We are 
not lifted up to the heights of heaven, as was St. Paul, to 
learn there the divine mysteries; but we must, by daily 
exertion, ascend step by step the rugged path of science. 

The Apostle of the Gentiles enumerates the titles of 
pastor and teacher among those of a priest. He joins 
together these two qualifications in order to point out the 
intimate and inseparable union between the office of pastor 
and that of teacher, and to remind us that the shepherd 
of souls must, also, be a man of learning. In the history 
of his own life, he tells us that he was "brought up at 
the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the truth of the 
law of the fathers." 3 

And how intent he was on the study of the Scriptures, 
even to the hour of his death, may be inferred from the 

1 Prov. v. 15, 16. 2 Luke vin. 10. 3 Acts xxn. 3. 



166 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

instructions he gave to Timothy during the last days of 
his lite, to have his books and parchments brought to 
him in prison, that he might be nourished and sustained 
by them in his solitude. 1 

In one of his Epistles, the same Apostle commends 
Timothy for his diligent application to the study of the 
Sacred Scriptures from his early youth ; 2 and in another 
Epistle, he exhorts his disciple to persevere in perusing 
and announcing them, that he may save himself and the 
flock committed to his care. 3 

St. Peter, also, includes knowledge among the essential 
qualifications of a minister of God. 4 

But does not St. Paul say that "Knowledge puffeth 
up, but charity edifieth?" 5 Yes, but what the Apostle 
condemns, is the knowledge that inflates, not the knowl- 
edge that is counterpoised by charity and humility ; and 
this is the knowledge that I am contending for. The 
most learned churchmen I ever met, were as conspicuous 
for profound humility as for depth of learning. Science, 
indeed, like every other gift, may be abused; but this 
possible perversion can never be reasonably urged as a 
plea for ignorance. 

I may be told that the Apostles were the most fruitful 
ministers of Christ ; and yet, with the exception of St. 
Paul, they were illiterate men. I answer that, apart 
from the special inspirations they received, they were 
far from being deficient in theological knowledge. They 
exhibited a marked familiarity with the ancient prophe- 
cies ; and did they not study divinity for three years at 

1 TT. Tim. iv. 13. 3 T. Tim. iv. 16. 5 1. Cor. vm. 1. 

2 If. Tim. in 15. 4 H. Pet. I. 



LEARNING ESSENTIAL FOR A PRIEST. 167 

its very Source? Did they not listen daily to the words 
of wisdom that came from the lips of their Master? And 
did they not profit by His instructions? Were they not 
always prepared to confront the errors, and to meet the 
popular objections of their times? 

Now, it cannot be denied, that since their day, knowl- 
edge has become more generally diffused throughout the 
world, new fields of science have been explored, and new 
errors have multiplied. How can the apostle of our 
generation fulfil his duty, if he does not keep pace with 
the trend of modern thought, demonstrate the harmony 
of religion with every department of science, and present 
fresh and substantial refutations to every new form of 
error that lifts its head ? 

The Sacred Scriptures are as vehement in their denunci- 
ations of sacerdotal ignorance and supineness, as they are 
earnest in stimulating priests to the pursuit of knowledge. 

Isaias compares the uninstructed and slothful priests 
of his time to dumb dogs : " His watchmen are all blind, 
they are all ignorant: dumb dogs not able to bark, seeing 
vain things, sleeping and loving dreams. The shepherds 
themselves knew no understanding; all have turned aside 
into their own way, every one after his own gain from 
the first even to the last." l 

The Prophet Osee ascribes the culpable ignorance, the 
enormous transgressions, and the national calamities of 
the Hebrew people to the intellectual stagnation of the 
priests : " There is no knowledge of God in the land. 
Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery 
have overflowed, and blood hath touched blood. There- 
fore, shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth 

1 Isaias lvi, 10, 11. 



168 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

in it, shall languish with the beasts of the field, and 
with the fowls of the air. . . . My people have been 
silent, because they had no knowledge : because thou 
hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou 
shalt not do the office of priesthood to Me; and thou 
hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget 
thy children." x 

The Prophet Malachi declares that God made the priests 
objects of scorn and contempt before all men, because of 
their neglect to study and proclaim His law : " You have 
departed out of the way, and have caused many to stumble 
at the law ; you have made void the covenant of Levi, 
saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore, have I also made 
you contemptible and base before all people." 2 

Our Saviour Himself pronounces a malediction on the 
scribes and Pharisees, not indeed on account of their ignor- 
ance, but of the perverted use they made of their knowledge, 
which is still more reprehensible. They smothered the 
life-giving word amid the rubbish of vain traditions ; they 
bewildered the people by their pernicious interpretations 
of the law ; and they insidiously distorted the Sacred Text, 
to gratify their selfish ends, and to practise extortions on 
the public : " Woe to you, lawyers, for you have taken 
away the key of knowledge : you yourselves have not 
entered in, and those that were entering in you have 
hindered." 3 " Woe to you that say: whosoever shall 
swear by the altar, it is nothing: but whosoever shall 
swear by the gift that is upon it, is a debtor. Ye blind, 
for whether is greater, the gift or the altar that sancti- 
fieth the gift?" 4 "They are blind, and leaders of the 

1 Osee iv. 1-6. 3 Luke xi. 52. 

2 Mai. ii. 8, 9. 4 Matt. xxm. 18, 1 9. 



LEARNING ESSENTIAL FOR A PRIEST. 169 

blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both fall into 
the pit." x 

But even if the Scriptures were silent on the subject, 
sober reflection would demonstrate the excellence, the 
importance, the necessity, and the paramount advantages 
to religion and society of a learned clergy. 

We cannot pay a higher homage to religion than in 
consecrating to the God of truth our intellect, the noblest 
faculty of the soul, and in making it more worthy of the 
uncreated Wisdom by developing it to the full extent of 
our abilities. 

The priesthood is pre-eminently one of the learned 
professions. If the well-being of society demands that 
the physician should be thoroughly acquainted with the 
causes and the remedies of diseases; that the judge be 
well-versed in jurisprudence; that the legal practitioner 
should master the principles and facts bearing on his 
client's cause; that the merchant should study the fluc- 
tuations of the market; that the general be instructed 
in the science of military tactics; that the statesman 
be familiar with statecraft, and the constitution of his 
country ; that the journalist be conversant with the 
topics of the day ; — surely the interests of the Chris- 
tian Commonwealth require that the Minister of Christ 
should be thoroughly grounded in the divine law which 
is the art of arts. 

And if the members of every craft and profession take 
a natural pride in their calling, certainly the clergyman 
should glory in his sacred ministry, which is the most 
sublime of all avocations, and in the knowledge of divinity, 
which is the queen of sciences. 

1 Matt. xv. 14. 



170 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Bat how can he be said to have his heart in his work, 
unless he is ambitious to cultivate his mind, and to ex- 
pound the truths of religion with force and dignity? 

In fact, the priest embodies in his own person the three- 
fold profession of judge, of advocate, and of physician. As 
judge, he is called upon to decide doctrinal and moral ques- 
tions — which requires a knowledge of the divine and eccle- 
siastical law ; as advocate, he must plead the cause of God 
before the people — which demands a well-furnished and 
disciplined mind ; as physician, he has to prescribe the 
remedies for spiritual maladies — which presupposes a deep 
insight into the human heart, and a study of its complex 
distempers. 

" Knowledge is power " not only in the scientific and 
mechanical, but also in the social and religious world. 
Knowledge is a recognized Leader. Men admire it, pay 
homage to it, and are swayed by it, especially when it is 
combined with rectitude of character. 

The respect of mankind for Christianity and its influ- 
ence on human thought, have always been proportioned 
to the intellectual and moral standard of the clergy. 

It cannot be doubted that Cardinal Newman, for in- 
stance, exerted a far more wide-spread power for good in 
his day and generation, than he could have commanded, 
if his life of exalted piety and ministerial labor had not 
been adorned by vast and varied erudition. 

Contemplate the Church of the fourth and fifth centuries, 
the golden age of patristic learning, the age of Ambrose, 
Augustine, Leo, Jerome, and Hilary, of Athanasius, Chry- 
sostom, Basil, Ephrem, Epiphanius, and of Gregory of 
Nazianzen, who enriched not only their own times, but 
all succeeding generations with the treasures of their 



LEARNING ESSENTIAL FOR A PRIEST. 171 

learning. What lustre they shed on the Christian name, 
and what influence they exerted in extending the kingdom 
of God ! What virility of faith and of character they 
exhibited and infused into others ! It was, indeed, a 
period of religious storms, but of storms that purified the 
moral atmosphere. While their uncompromising adher- 
ence to truth often exposed these champions to the tyranny 
of princes, their literary fame, intrepid conduct, and evan- 
gelical lives won the admiration of their enemies. Under 
leaders so accomplished, the Church may often be assailed, 
but despised never. 

On the other hand, there is no spectacle more deplora- 
ble and humiliating to the Church, than that of an igno- 
rant and torpid clergy. While no man is more respected 
and honored in the community than the ambassador of 
Christ who is conspicuous for erudition combined with a 
blameless life, no man is held in greater contempt than 
the slothful minister who is destitute of the scholarly 
acquirements demanded by his sacred calling. 

Piety in a priest, though indispensable, can never be 
an adequate substitute for learning. He may have zeal, 
but not the " zeal according to knowledge " l which the 
Apostle commends. Knowledge without piety may, 
indeed, make a churchman vain and arrogant; but 
piety without knowledge, renders him an unprofitable 
servant. The absence of piety makes him hurtful to 
himself, but the absence of knowledge makes him a 
stumbling-block to others. 

"I would prefer," says St. Teresa, "to consult a 
learned confessor who did not practise prayer, rather 

1 Rom. x. 2. 



172 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

than a man of prayer who was not learned ; for the latter 
could not guide me in the truth." l 

An ill-instructed priesthood is the scourge of the Church. 
The great religious upheaval of the sixteenth century may 
be justly ascribed to the intellectual darkness, as well as 
to the moral depravity of the clergy. " If in the six- 
teenth century/' says Cardinal De La Luzerne, " heresy 
made such rapid progress, infected a great part of Europe, 
and wrested from the faith of Jesus Christ a great number 
of churches, it was to the ignorance in which the clergy 
stagnated that it owed its success. The embankment 
which should have kept it within bounds, proving feeble 
and impotent, the terrible inundation spread its ravages 
in all directions. It swept away in its destructive course, 
even many of the consecrated Piers that had been erected 
to arrest it, and which yielded without resistance to its 
incursions." 2 

Silence, solitude, and study are the three great pre- 
requisites for knowledge. Silence and solitude are the 
hand-maids of study. The most learned books ever 
written, the most sublime works of artistic and scientific 
genius ever conceived, the most eloquent discourses ever 
pronounced, had their inspirations in solitude. Without 
interior recollection and intense thought, no great work 
was ever achieved. " Conversation," says Gibbon, u en- 
riches the understanding, but solitude is the school of 
genius." 

"The common sense of mankind has associated the 
search after truth with seclusion and quiet. The greatest 
thinkers have been too intent on their subject to admit 

1 Autobiography, Chap. xiii. 2 De L'Etat Ecclesiastique. 



LEAKNING ESSENTIAL FOR A PRIEST. 173 

of interruption. Pythagoras, the light of Magna Graecia, 
lived for a time in a cave. Thales, the light of Ionia, 
lived unmarried and in private, and refused the invita- 
tions of princes. Plato withdrew from Athens to the 
groves of Academus; Aristotle gave twenty years to a 
studious discipleship under him. Friar Bacon lived in 
a tower upon the Isis." l 

I do not hesitate to say that the priest who aims at 
being thoroughly equipped for the ministry, must be a 
habitual student from the period of his ordination. No 
matter how successful he may have been during his theo- 
logical course, a little reflection and observation will 
convince him of the imperfect and insufficient fund of 
knowledge he had then acquired. He had simply learned 
how to learn. The foundation was laid ; the superstruc- 
ture is the work of his whole life. No conscientious 
lawyer or judge is content with the legal lore gained 
before his graduation. Why then should a priest be an 
exception ? 

I once met a justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, tired and exhausted, after his day's work. 
He informed me that the duties of his office involved 
about twelve hours of labor each day, and that even a 
portion of his vacation was spent in the preparation of 
his decisions. 

To make no progress, is to go backward, because we 
easily forget what we have learned unless our mind is 
replenished by renewed application. The most fertile 
field will yield only weeds and briars, if not diligently 
cultivated. An indolent and unstudious priest may 
abound in speech, but it will be superficial and unin- 

1 Cardinal Newman. — Idta of a University. 



174 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

structive. A teacher who fails to keep up his studies, is 
on the high road to mental bankruptcy. His notes will 
go to protest, or to speak more plainly, the people will 
silently protest against the reproduction of his old stock 
in trade. 

I may be told that apostolic men, like the Cur6 
d'Ars, are found in every country, who, though deficient 
in acquired learning and natural talent, are eminently 
successful in converting souls. Would to God that the 
number of such shepherds were multiplied ; for they are 
the glory of Jerusalem, they are the joy of Israel, and the 
honor of the people of God! What these priests lack 
in book-learning, is more than compensated by infused 
knowledge in meditation ; for books are not the only 
instruments of science. They study like St. Thomas 
Aquinas at the foot of the cross. With the Psalmist 
they can say: "The Lord is my light." They gain an 
intuitive perception of the truth which is vouchsafed to 
others only by arduous study. Far from being slothful, 
they make the best possible use of the faculties that God 
has given them. They certainly afford no justification 
to those who presume, without any intellectual qualifi- 
cations, to be heralds of the Word. 

A young levite once remarked to his Professor: "God 
can dispense with my learning." "Yes," was the reply, 
^t)ut He has still less need of your ignorance." A 
gentleman said to an untutored minister : "Why do you 
preach, since you haven't studied?" "The Lord," he 
answered, "hath opened my mouth." "Such an event," 
was the rejoinder, "happened before in the days of 
Balaam, but these divine favors are very rare in our 
days." 



LEARNING ESSENTIAL FOR A PRIEST. 175 

It is evident, also, that a priest's studies should have a 
direct or an indirect reference to his sacred profession. 
They should proximately or remotely bear upon his 
ministry, and tend to the cultivation, the development, 
and the enriching of his natural faculties. If the time 
that ought to be allotted to serious mental labor is wasted 
on newspapers and novels, or in the perusal of literature 
which acts like an opiate on the intellect, he will become 
"a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal," in the pulpit, 
and will be "as one beating the air." The intellectual 
mill is sure to grind out whatever it receives. If sup- 
plied with wheat, it will give forth nutritious food ; if 
supplied with sand, it will yield but dust. The law of 
reproduction applies to the mind as well as to the land. 
" What a man soweth, that shall he reap also." 

And if in every age learning was demanded of a minis- 
ter of religion, it is especially imperative in our country 
that he should be clothed with the panoply of Christian 
science. * Americans are a reading and an inquisitive 
people. They explore all regions of thought "in the 
heaven above, in the earth beneath, and in the waters 
under the earth." They investigate subjects of Scripture 
and theology, history and biography, astronomy and 
geology, and every other branch of human knowledge. 

The priest of God must be prepared to answer all 
inquiries in the domain of science, as well as of religion. 
He should apply to himself the words of the Poet : 

"Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto." 

While the missionary, engrossed as he is by a multi- 
tude of ministerial duties, can hardly be expected to make 
very deep researches into these departments of secular 



176 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

study, he should have a sufficient acquaintance with them 
to prove that no historical fact or scientific discovery can 
shake the impregnable foundations of Christianity, and 
that there is perfect harmony between the God of science 
and the God of revelation. 

The more profound investigation of scientific questions 
will naturally devolve on those favored levites who will 
have enjoyed the special privilege of a university course. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Personal Advantages and Pleasures op a 
Studious Life. 

WE must not overlook the personal advantages 
which the anointed minister of Christ derives 
from studious habits. Study is not only a source of 
knowledge, but it is also a handmaid of virtue, and a 
perennial fountain of intellectual enjoyment. Some hours 
of a priest's daily life are usually spent apart from the 
society of living men. In his library he is surrounded 
by the concentrated wisdom of ages ; and he is never less 
alone than when alone with such company. "They are 
never alone/' says Sir Philip Sidney, "that are accom- 
panied by noble thoughts." In perusing the writings of 
saints and sages, we are unconsciously moved to imitate 
their lives: "Abeunt studia in mores." We are drawn 
nearer to great and good men, and we know them better 
in reading their thoughts than in viewing their portraits. 
Their portraits are the work of another ; their thoughts 
are the photograph of their own mind. The portrait 
fades with time; but the words of the author are as fresh 
as when first spoken. Homer still lives in his writings, 
though Troy has been in ashes for ages. Cicero still 
speaks to us, though the Roman Senate which echoed 
his voice is in ruins. 

12 177 



178 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

The glory of Jerusalem has departed ; but the sacred 
songs of David are ascending to heaven in sweet harmony, 
from thousands of temples throughout the globe. They 
are the inspiration and joy, the hope and consolation of 
Christian millions. 

The reader will find in his books delightful companions 
to enrich his mind with the treasures of knowledge, to 
entertain and cheer him in his solitude, to console him 
in adversity, to counsel him in doubt, to support and 
strengthen him in temptation, to caution him against 
impending dangers, to rebuke him in his transgressions. 

If our companion is the Bible, it will, like Beatrice 
guiding Dante through the abodes of the blessed, conduct 
us into the most sacred and memorable scenes that have 
ever been presented to the gaze of mankind. It will 
lead us to Mount Sinai, where we may contemplate God 
Himself speaking to Moses and delivering to him the 
tables of the Law. It will accompany us to the moun- 
tains of Judea, where we can hear the prophets denounc- 
ing the iniquities of the Jewish people. We can follow 
the children of God in their devious wanderings through 
the wilderness before they enter the Promised Land. 
With the multitude we can sit down on the grass, and be 
attentive listeners to our Lord, while He is preaching His 
sermon on the Mount. We can reverently stand beside 
Him while -He is conversing with the Samaritan woman 
at the well of Jacob, or reclining at table with Zaccheus, 
or consoling Mary and Martha at the tomb of their brother 
Lazarus, or delivering His last discourse to His disciples. 

The remembrance of some phrase spoken by our Sa- 
viour, is a powerful antidote against temptation. It is a 
spiritual bouquet, diffusing around us a healthful and 



A STUDIOUS LIFE. 179 

delicious odor ; it is a moral disinfectant in an atmosphere 
of vice; it is a ready weapon against a sudden attack. 
" What things soever were written," says the Apostle, 
" were written for our learning ; " l and hence the con- 
duct of Christ, when tempted in the desert, was mani- 
festly intended as a pattern for our guidance under 
similar circumstances. When tempted to gluttony by 
the evil spirit, He answered : " It is written : Not by 
bread alone doth man live, but by every word that 
proceedeth from the mouth of God." When tempted 
to presumption, He said : " It is loritten : Thou shalt 
not tempt the Lord thy God." When tempted to vain 
glory, He replied : " It is written : The Lord thy God 
shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve." 2 

Or if sacred and secular eloquence has special attrac- 
tions for us, what is more captivating and inspiring than 
this highest manifestation of human intelligence? We 
can listen to Demosthenes pouring forth his matchless 
philippics against the King of Macedon. We can mingle 
with the crowd in the Roman Senate and in the Forum, 
while Cicero in thundering tones is inveighing against the 
treason of Cataline and the official corruptions of Verres. 

We can hear the Apostle of the Gentiles in the Areo- 
pagus, proclaiming the one, true God to the refined, 
but idolatrous, Athenians. We can, in spirit, contem- 
plate John Chrysostom denouncing the lasciviousness of 
the Court of Constantinople. We can be spectators 
during that almost unrivalled speech of Edmund Burke, 
delivered in the British House of Commons in presence 
of England's representative nobility and gentry, on the 

l "Rom. xv. 4. 2 Matt. iv. 10. 



180 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

occasion of the impeachment of Warren Hastings. We 
can fancy ourselves sitting in the Senate chamber, while 
Webster is delivering his historic speech in reply to 
Hayne, surrounded by such illustrious colleagues as 
Clay, Calhoun, Benton, and Silas Wright. We miss, 
indeed, the sonorous tones of the living voice; we miss 
the sensible emotions and the applause of the audience, 
but we hear the identical words that were spoken, and 
our imagination can fill the chamber with an eager and 
animated assemblage. 

We rise from the perusal of these discourses, impressed 
with the charms of human eloquence and its power to 
sway the minds of men. The pleasure we derive from 
the silent reproduction of such scenes, is second only to 
the delight of being spectators of them. The distance 
of time and space that divides us from the living speakers, 
is in some measure compensated for by the advantage we 
enjoy of pausing to admire at our ease every fresh gem 
of thought that fell from their lips. 

If we take up History for our companion, we can note 
the rise, the progress, and the fall of ancient empires 
marked out as distinctly as we can trace a river from its 
source to its mouth. In studying the causes of a Com- 
monwealth's decay, we realize the truth of Scripture, that 
nations, as well as individuals, are subject to God; 1 
that "justice exalteth a nation; but sin maketh nations 
miserable;" 2 that God has used even heathen princes, 
like Pharaoh, Cyrus, and Titus, as the inst ruments fo r 
the providential deliverance of His people, and as the 
unconscious agents of the fulfilment of His prophecies, 

1 Wisd. vin. 14. 2 Prov. xiv. 31. 



A STUDIOUS LIFE. 181 

But the most entertaining and instructive of all com- 
panions is Biography. It is the portraiture of character 
that has made Plutarch's Lives so popular and attractive 
to all classes of readers. The biographical feature of the 
Scriptures, apart from their inspiration, always lends to the 
Sacred Volume a special charm ; and the same observation 
applies to The Lives of the Saints. How absorbing and in- 
spiriting is the record of those men in particular who have 
been martyrs to truth and justice! What enthusiasm and 
admiration they enkindle in our breast ! With what feel- 
ings of righteous indignation, we see the Baptist beheaded 
in prison, out of zeal for conjugal purity ! 

We gaze with loving wonder on the Apostle of the 
Gentiles wielding his pen, as he can no longer wield 
" the sword of the Spirit/' in his Roman dungeon, con- 
fronting death with composure, and exhorting his disciple 
to the practice of apostolic virtues. 

We contemplate the emaciated, but intrepid, Basil 
standing before the tribunal of Modestus, refusing to 
surrender his Catholic faith, though threatened with con- 
fiscation, imprisonment,and death. 

What more thrilling and touching picture can be pre- 
sented to our view than that of Chrysostom, the fearless 
champion of Christian morality, dying in exile, worn out 
by fatigue and brutal treatment ! 

What a spectacle to the world is Athauasius of Alexan- 
dria ! During the six and forty years of his Episcopate, 
he continues to be the victim of unrelenting imperial 
persecutions. Five times he is driven from his See, and 
hunted like a wild beast. 

The genial and accomplished Sir Thomas More volun- 
tarily surrenders the great Seal as Lord High-Chancellor 



182 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of England, is immured in the London Tower, and exe- 
cuted for the sake of conscience and righteousness. 

But when we look on the King of martyrs towering 
above them all, and dying amid humiliations unexampled, 
we realize more than ever the nobility of that suffering 
which rises superior to strength and power, to grace and 
beauty, to learning and eloquence ; and in the privations 
inseparable from our own ministry, we are incomparably 
more consoled by the trials of Christ and His heroic 
followers, than by the sublimity of their words. The 
splendor of their natural acquirements so admired during 
their life, pales before the glory of their ignominy which 
then excited only pity or contempt. With what com- 
placency we smile at the breath of opposition or calumny 
that we may encounter in the exercise of our official 
duties, when we witness the fierce blasts of persecution 
that beat against those sturdy oaks ! 

After exhibiting to us models of apostolic firmness, 
our library companion will hold mirrored before us the 
portraits of men conspicuous for their private virtues. 
Their exemplary lives will stimulate us to follow in their 
footsteps, while the career of others who had fallen from 
grace will serve as cautionary signals, warning us to 
shun the snares which occasioned their ruin. When we 
read of the patience of a Job amid the accumulation 
of temporal calamities, and the pious submission of 
Tobias, we learn to bow with resignation to the visita- 
tions of Providence. When we contemplate the chastity 
of Joseph and Susanna, who preferred to be deprived 
of liberty, reputation and even life itself rather than 
sully their souls, we conceive a fresh admiration for 
that angelic virtue. 



A STUDIOUS LIFE. 183 

On the contrary, when we read of men once distin- 
guished for their sanctity, but who had suddenly fallen 
from their lofty pinnacle, when we behold a Samson, a 
David, and a Solomon, — those towering oaks, overthrown 
by a single shock of temptation, we are admonished to 
be wary and circumspect, and not to confide in virtues 
already acquired. 

There is this distinguishing characteristic of our library 
celebrities, that they are always readily approached. Even 
if we had been the contemporaries of the great, the good, 
and the learned who shed a lustre on their age, how hard 
it would be to have access to them, and hear their living 
voice ! Mountains and seas might be a barrier between 
them and us ; and though they lived close to us, it might 
be difficult or impossible to converse with them. What 
an insignificant fraction of the human family have cast 
their eyes on our Saviour and his Apostles, on Demos- 
thenes and Cicero, on Chrysostom and Augustine ! What 
a small percentage of the Christian world have beheld 
the reigning Pope ! 

But there is no barrier to prevent us from drawing 
nigh to those who speak to us through the pages of their 
books. We need no letter of introduction to them ; they 
are never preoccupied; they are always willing to open 
their mouth, and communicate their thoughts to us, 
whenever we choose to listen to them. 

The mute companions of our solitude possess another 
distinguishing characteristic rarely found among living 
men ; — they are fearless preachers. Our most intimate 
friend, from a sense of delicacy, or from the fear of 
being regarded as censorious and hypercritical, and as 
adopting the role of a superior, will hesitate to remind 



]84 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

us of our faults; or he will touch the sore point of our 
character with extreme tenderness. Even Socrates took 
it amiss to be gently rebuked by his friend Plato, espe- 
cially in the company of others. 

Though our conscience may accuse us, we shrink from 
the reproof of a living voice : " I hate the Prophet 
Micheas," said king Achab, " for he doth not prophesy 
good to me, but evil." l 

There are, moreover, few professing Christians that 
more rarely have the living word addressed to them than 
our clergymen. They preach and hear the Gospel an- 
nounced to others ; but there are seldom any sermons 
directed to themselves, except, perhaps, on the occasion 
of an annual retreat. 

We have, therefore, to rely on our silent associates for 
exhortation. They will not pander to our vanity, nor 
connive at our faults. They will probe our moral ulcers. 
Like true friends, they will proclaim the truth without 
the fear of offending us ; for we never quarrel with our 
books or question their sincerity, how severely soever 
they may rebuke us. 

These moralists of ours never bore us, or thrust them- 
selves upon us. As soon as we desire to close the confer- 
ence, their lips are sealed, and they resume their narrow 
cell. When tired of one monitor, we can listen to 
another. By way of relaxation, we can pass with ease 
from a grave to a gay and jovial companion. The bow 
must be sometimes relaxed : 

"A little humor now and then, 
Is relished by the best of men." 

Many a sage maxim is clothed in a festive garment. 

"IIL Kings xxn. 8 



A STUDIOUS LIFE. 185 

•* Numerous examples might be furnished of the signal 
"conversions and other blessings wrought by the reading 
of a good book. Many a Christian luminary has found 
ina single page or sentence the germ of his moral reforma- 
tion^ The great Patriarch, St. Autony, was inspired to 
lead an austere evangelical life by a passage of the Gospel. 

St. Augustine ascribes his conversion to a sentence of 
St. Paul. Seduced in his youth from the religion of his 
pious mother into the Manichean heresy, he became not 
only shipwrecked in faith, but dissolute in morals. One 
day, while in company with his friends Alypius and 
Pontitianus, the latter recounts the extraordinary life 
and sanctity of St. Antony. After listening to the 
narrative, Augustine remarks with emotion : " These 
ignorant men take heaven by violence, and we with 
all our learning remain wallowing in the mire of sin." 
Withdrawing afterward from his companions, he sits 
under a fig-tree, and gives vent to his tears. While 
struggling with conflicting feelings, he hears the voice of 
a child uttering these words : " Take up and read ; take 
up and read." As no child was in view, he accepts the 
call as a heavenly admonition, and returning to the house, 
he finds the Epistles of St. Paul open before him. 

The rest of the incident may be best told in his 
own touching words : " I seized, opened, and in silence 
read that section on which my eyes first fell: 'Not in 
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impuri- 
ties, not in contention and envy : but put ye on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, in its 
concupiscences.' l No further would I read ; nor needed 
I : for instantly at the end of this sentence, by a light as 

^om. xiii. 13, 14. 



186 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

it were of serenity infused into my heart, all the darkness 
of doubt vanished away." l 

St. Ignatius, when a soldier, disabled by a wound 
received at the siege of Pampeluna, asked for a book of 
romances to divert his mind. No such work being at 
hand, a volume of The Lives of the Saints was brought to 
him, and its contents so inflamed his soul that he resolved 
henceforth to be a soldier of the Cross. 

Dr. Wolff, a celebrated clergyman of the church of 
England, was moved to enter on his missionary career 
by the perusal of the Life of St. Francis Xavier. If such 
a biography exercised so great a sway on a Protestant 
reader, well may we suppose that it has quickened the 
zeal of many a minister of Christ, and inspired many an 
ingenuous Catholic youth to consecrate himself to a life 
of apostolic labors. 

"A natural turn for intellectual pursuits/' says Thomas 
Hood, "probably preserved me from moral shipwreck so 
apt to befall those who are deprived in early life of their 
parental pilotage. My book kept me from the ring, the 
tavern, the saloon." 

The surprise is sometimes expressed that clergymen 
can be content with their solitary mode of life. I am 
far from being averse to society in its proper time and 
place; and yet I am firmly persuaded that a priest who 
is attached to his books, experiences a delight more exqui- 
site, more healthful, and more enduring than the pleasure 
derived from social reunions. It is, moreover, a delight 
that is never marred by those displays of ill-temper and 
disputes, of stinging jests and sharp repartees into which 
the best of friends are sometimes betrayed. 

Confessions, Book VIII. 



A STUDIOUS LIFE. 187 

But if a shepherd of souls has no taste for seclusion 
and study, how will he occupy his leisure hours, espe- 
cially in a country mission where wholesome, intellectual 
diversions are commonly so rare ? Not in secular pursuits, 
for he is debarred from them by his sacred profession. 
He will spend them in devouring novels which will soon 
pall on him ; in wading through literary garbage whose 
exhalations will poison his soul ; in morbid reflections, 
vain imaginations ; in a spirit of ennui and discontent. 
Or, perhaps, unable to endure the irksomeness of a soli- 
tary life, he will seek comfort in the circle of boon com- 
panions, or in some other unhealthy excitement ; he will 
indulge in convivial habits, and may, at last, yield to the 
seductive charms of sensuality. 

How true are the words of the Wise Man : " Idleness 
hath taught much evil I" 1 " Be engaged/' says St. 
Jerome, "in some work, that the demon may always 
find you occupied." " On account of idleness," says St. 
Bernard, " King Solomon became involved in many for- 
nications, and lustful desires led him to worship idols." 

The minister of God, while exhorted to cultivate habits 
of retirement and study, is by no means expected to be a 
recluse. The Prince of pastors was not an anchoret. He 
was found in the family circle, as well as in the Syna- 
gogue, and His light shone as luminously in the banquet- 
ing hall as in the Temple. 

The sphere of the missionary priest is a dual one ; he 
has a field of religion to cultivate in social and public, as 
as well as in domestic and private life. He sanctifies the 
hearth as well as the cloister. His mission is to regener- 
ate his age, as well as to save his own soul. The words 

1 Ecclus. xxxiii. 29. 



188 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

predicated of the Church, may be appropriately applied 
to the priest : " The Church knows of the double life 
divinely prescribed and commended to her; the one in 
labor, the other in rest ; the one in work of action, the 
other in the reward of contemplation." ! 

This variety of pursuits exerts a wholesome and bracing 
influence on soul and body. The hours spent in retire- 
ment and in the work of the sanctuary, far from incapaci- 
tating him for company, are the best school to fit him for 
social intercourse. "No man," says Kempis, "can safely 
appear in public, but he who loves seclusion. No man 
can safely speak, but he who loves silence." 2 The talkative 
and superficial man is always saying something; the dis- 
creet and learned man has always something to say. 
Hence, no man is more sought after in familiar and 
friendly relations than the genial and scholarly clergy- 
man. No man's conversation is more profitable and 
entertaining. With his store of knowledge, he is ever 
prepared to illustrate any subject that comes up, by a 
historical allusion, or an anecdote, or a personal reminis- 
cence that enlivens the conference, and relieves it of dull 
monotony. His well-timed remarks on religious topics, 
which may naturally be suggested by the flow of con- 
versation, often make a more salutary impression than 
when they are stamped with the official seal of the pulpit. 
In a word, the pastor that is revered in the sanctuary, is 
sure to be admired and loved in the homes of the people. 



*St. Augustine, Tract cxxiv. in J*>annem. 2 B. 1. ch xx. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Persevering Labor, the Key to Knowledge. 

IT HAS long been a mooted question whether men are 
more indebted to genius or to laborious industry for 
their intellectual achievements. 

" The charms of verse, — the question is not new — 
Are they to art or inborn genius due ? 
In all fine work, methinks each plays a part — 
Art linked with genius, genius linked with art ; 
Each doth the other's helping hand require, 
And to one end they both like friends conspire." ' 

I believe, however, that the majority of eminent scholars 
attribute their success in the field of literature, science, 
and art more to persevering study than to native talent. 
They have not hesitated to say that everything can be 
accomplished by labor, and that no excellence is attainable 
without it. 

Genius has well been defined " an infinite capacity for 
taking pains." Every man who has left the imprint of 
his genius on literature, philosophy, and art, has been an 
indefatigable worker. 

1 " Natura fieret laudabile carmen, an arte, 

Qusesitum est: Ego nee studium sine divite vena, 
Nee rude quid possit video ingenium : alterius sic 
Altera, poscit opem res, et conjurat amice. " 

Horace, Ars Poetica. 

189 



190 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Buffon, the great naturalist, has remarked that patience 
is genius. The power of great men, in his judgment, 
consists chiefly in their faculty of continuous working and 
waiting. "Invention," he says, "depends on patience. 
Contemplate your subject long. It will gradually unfold 
itself till a sort of electric spark convulses for a moment 
the brain and spreads down to the very heart a glow of 
irritation. Then come the luxuries of genius, the true 
honors for production and composition; — hours so de- 
lightful that I have spent twelve and fourteen suc- 
cessively at my writing-desk, and still been in a state 
of pleasure." 

It is related that a rival playwright, named Alcestis, 
once made this jeering remark to Euripides : " It has 
taken you three days to compose three verses, while I 
have dashed off one hundred in the same time." " Yes," 
retorted Euripides, " but your one hundred verses in three 
days will be dead and forgotten, whilst my three will live 
forever." 

When Apelles was reproached with the paucity of 
his productions and the minute care with which he 
retouched his paintings, he replied that he painted for 
perpetuity. 

We know what herculean efforts were made by De- 
mosthenes, the greatest of orators, before he mastered his 
profession and became the pride and glory of Athens as 
a public speaker. He had a small chamber built under- 
ground, in which he used to occupy himself for two or 
three successive months in study. He shaved one side of 
his head that the confusion of appearing in public in this 
condition, might compel him to remain in his retreat. 
Here he composed those admirable orations of which his 



PERSEVERING LABOR, THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE. 191 

envious rivals said they " smelt of the lamp." " Yours/' 
he replied to them,- " did not cost you so much labor." 
He copied Thucydides eight times, to form his style after 
the great historian. 

Cicero's mind was not of the first order. He was dis- 
tinguished for a great variety of talent rather than for 
any preeminence of genius. AVe may trace to his un- 
wearied industry the singular position which he holds 
in the Roman world of letters. He devoted his chief 
attention to oratory, declaiming daily in Greek and Latin 
with some young noblemen who were his competitors in 
the race for political honors. Nor was he satisfied with 
attending regularly the lectures of the best teachers in the 
Capital. He was an assiduous listener to the pleadings 
in the Forum. On returning home, he would spend 
many hours of the night reproducing the speeches he had 
heard, and repeating them for practice to private tutors. 

The industry that he displayed in early life was but an 
earnest of that which he evinced in maturer years. " He 
suffered no part of his leisure to be idle," says Middleton, 
" or the least interval of it to be lost : but what other 
people gave to the public shows, to pleasure, to feasts, nay 
even to sleep, and the ordinary refreshments of nature, 
he generally gave to his books and the enlargement of 
his knowledge. On days of business, when he had any 
thing particular to compose, he had no other time for 
meditating but when he was taking a few turns in his 
walks where he used to dictate his thoughts to his scribes 
who attended him. We find many of his letters dated 
before daylight ; some from the Senate ; others from his 
meals and the crowd of his morning levee." Thus he 
found time without apparent inconvenience for the busi- 



192 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

ness of the State, for the turmoil of the courts, and for 
philosophical studies. 1 

Bossuet, the Eagle of Meaux, has perhaps been un- 
rivalled in sacred eloquence. His sermons combine in 
a marvellous degree strength and grace, sublimity of 
thought and simplicity of language, and display an eru- 
dition that always delights while it instructs. Gibbon, 
the historian, savs of him : "The English translations of 
two famous works of Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux, achieved 
my conversion, and I surely fell by a noble hand." 2 So 
close and unremitting was his application to study that 
his college companions, by a playful allusion to his name, 
spoke of him as " Bos-suetus aratro" the ox inured to 
the plough. 

Fenelon wrote eighteen copies of his Telemachus, each 
covered with erasures, before he gave the work to the 
press. 

Henry Clay, in an address to young men, revealed to 
them the secret of his triumphs in the field of oratory. 
"I owe my success," he said, "chiefly to one circum- 
stance, that, at the age of twenty-seven, I commenced 
and continued for years the process of daily reading and 
speaking upon the contents of some historical or scientific 
book. These off-hand efforts were made sometimes in a 
cornfield; at others, in the forest; and not unfrequently, 
in some distant barn with the horse and the ox for my 
auditors. It is to this early practice of the art of all arts 
that I am indebted for the primary and leading impulses 
that stimulated me onward, and have shaped and moulded 
my whole subsequent destiny." 

1 See Newman's Sketch of Cicero. 2 Gibbon's Memoir*, Vol. I. 



PERSEVERING LABOR, THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE. 193 

Daniel Webster was a laborious student, and took the 
utmost care in revising all his speeches and addresses 
which were published under his authority. His famous 
Plymouth discourse was not officially printed in pamphlet 
form until one year after its delivery. He spent his 
leisure moments in the intermediate time pruning and 
correcting it, thus rendering it one of the finest oratorical 
compositions that now exist in the English language. 
He himself said on one occasion, that he would as soon 
think of appearing before an audience half clothed, as 
half prepared ; and at another time, he told one of his 
friends that he would as soon stand up and tell his 
audience that he had garments enough at home, but did 
not think it worth while to put them on, as to tell them 
that he could have made a satisfactory speech, perhaps, 
if he had taken the requisite pains. 1 

Virgil spent three years on his Bucolics, or Pastoral 
Poems. He devoted seven to the composition of his 
Georgics, and for ten years he was engaged on the 
JEneid. And yet so deeply was he impressed with the 
imperfections of this immortal epic, and so far did it fall 
short of his ideal, that, when he felt his death approach- 
ing, he ordered his friends, Varius and Plotius Tucca, to 
burn the manuscript. Happily, however, for the literary 
world, the Emperor Augustus intervened, and prevented 
the destruction of a work which has been the delight and 
admiration of posterity. 

According to Bentley and other commentators, Horace 
consumed about fifteen years in writing his poems, from 
the time that he began his Satires till he had finished 
The Art of Poetry. 

l A History of Oratory and Orators f by Henry Hardwicke. 

13 



194 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Alexander Pope says of himself: 

"As yet a child and all unknown to fame, 
I lisped in numbers, for the numbers came." 

But this precocious aptitude for versification never weak- 
ened his industry. Dr. Johnson says : "His intelligence 
was perpetually on the wing, excursive, vigorous, and 
diligent, eager to pursue knowledge and attentive to 
retain it. His natural gifts he improved by incessant 
and unwearied diligence. He had recourse to every 
source of intelligence, and lost no opportunity of infor- 
mation. He was never content with mediocrity when 
excellence could be attained. If conversation offered 
anything that could be improved, he committed it to 
paper. If a thought or perhaps an expression more 
happy than was common rose to his mind, he was careful 
to write it. He was or.o of those few whose labor is 
their pleasure. He was never elevated to negligence nor 
wearied to impatience. He examined lines and words 
with minute and punctilious observation, and retouched 
every part with indefatigable diligence till he left nothing 
to be forgiven." x 

For this reason, he kept his pieces very long in hand 
while he considered and reconsidered them. His manu- 
scripts were usually written four times over before they 
were committed to the press. 

Addison's Spectator is justly regarded as the best model 
of English classical literature. Its author was a most 
painstaking writer. The reader of the Spectator might 
be led to believe that each paper was written at the date 
assigned to it ; but we are informed that he had compiled 

1 Johnson's Life of Pope. 



PERSEVERING LABOR, THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE. 195 

three folio volumes of manuscript before he began the 
Spectator. It is also reported of him that, when he 
occupied a position under the government, he was, on a 
certain occasion, too late in furnishing an important State 
paper, on account of the careful revision to which it was 
subjected. 

Milton consumed five years of solitude in reading the 
ancient writers before he composed his Paradise Lost. 

Dante began the Divina Commedia nearly thirty years 
before he completed it. 

It is said that seven years elapsed from the day that 
Gray began his Elegy until he had finished it. But if he 
consumed so much time in creating that charming poem, 
he was amply rewarded by the eagerness with which it 
was read and the admiration in which it is still held. If 
easy writing is usually hard reading, the inverse proposi- 
tion is generally true, namely, that painstaking writing 
affords pleasant and instructive reading. 

Moore considered ten lines a day good work, and he 
would keep the little poem by him for weeks waiting for 
a single word. 

In the quarto edition of Lord Byron's Poetical Works, is 
given a fac-simile of a few verses of Childe Harold as they 
came from the hands of the poet. The corrections and 
erasures are countless. In some instances there are several 
alterations of one word. The specimen given is a fair type 
of the whole manuscript copy. He spent the leisure hours 
of nearly four years in composing the first two cantos. 

A friend, after reading a short stanza of Tennyson's, 
remarked to the author : " Surely, Mr. Tennyson, this 
verse did not cost vou much stud v. The words flow so 
smoothly and lit in so naturally that they must have 



196 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

come spontaneously to your mind." The poet quietly 
replied : " I have smoked a box of cigars over these four 
lines." After his first publication, he buried himself for 
ten years among his books, and was heard of no more by 
the public during all that time. He became a laborious 
student, a painstaking thinker, with the great view of 
fitting himself for the career that his talents and ambition 
impelled him to pursue. 

Cardinal Newman wrote in 1869 to Rev. John Hayes: 
" I have been obliged to take great pains with everything 
I have written ; and I often wrote whole chapters over 
and over again, besides innumerable corrections and inter- 
linear additions. I don't get any better for practice. I 
am as much obliged to correct and rewrite as I was thirty 
years ago." He informs us, also, that he was engaged 
for over a year on a brief essay treating of the inspiration 
of the Scriptures before he was satisfied with it, though 
the subject had occupied his life thoughts. Who would 
have believed all this if the Cardinal himself had not 
told us? There is no apparent effort in his style, his 
language flows in a clear and limpid stream, he seems 
never to be at a loss for a word, and he always uses the 
right expression in the right place. 

Dickens was popularly regarded as a facile writer. 
But he himself tells us that his works cost him infinite 
pains. "The one, serviceable, safe, certain, remunerative, 
attainable quality in every study and every pursuit is the 
quality of attention. My own invention, or imagina- 
tion, such as it is, I can most truthfully assure you," 
he says, " would never have served me as it has, but 
for the habit of commonplace, humble, patient, daily, 
toiling, drudging attention." When I heard Mr. Dickens 



PERSEVERING LABOR, THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE. 1 97 

give a public recitation in Baltimore, in 1865, I fancied 
that he read extracts from his own writings without 
any previous preparation. But it is said that, on being 
requested to read at such a recitation a new selection 
from his works, he excused himself on the ground that 
he had not time to prepare himself, as he was in the 
habit of reading a piece once a day for six months before 
reciting it in public. 

Edmund Burke revised the proof-sheets of his Reflec- 
tions c:i ike French Revolution a dozen times before they 
were finally committed to the press. 

While we deplore the skepticism of Gibbon, the his- 
torian, we cannot but admire his indefatigable industry, 
his vast erudition, as well as the measured grandeur of 
his sentences. With the view of forming his Latin style, 
he adopted the laborious, though efficacious, method of 
translating the Epistles of Cicero into French. He after- 
ward re-translated his French into Latin, and then com- 
pared his own version with the original text of the Roman 
orator. He adopted the same method in his efforts to 
master the French language, translating the historian 
Vertot into Latio, and then turning his Latin into French. 
To perfect himself in Latin, he carefully perused Terence, 
Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, and other authors three times, 
and never suffered a difficult passage to escape till he had 
viewed it in every light of which it was susceptible. He 
conceived the idea of writing The Decline and Fall of the 
Roman Empire in October, 1764, and of the conclusion 
of that work, he says : " It was on the night of the 27th 
of June, 1787, that I wrote the last lines of the last page." 
We see by this statement that twenty-three years elapsed 
from the day that he formed the idea of writing the history 



198 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

till its completion. He wrote out his Memoirs nine times 
before he was satisfied with them. 1 

Hume labored assiduously for thirteen hours a day in 
compiling his History of England. He was fifteen years 
engaged on the work. 

Dr. Lingard consecrated about twelve years of earnest 
labor to his admirable work, The History of England. 
The first volume appeared in 1819, and his task was not 
completed till 1830. 

It is said that twenty-four years elapsed from the time 
that Allison commenced his History of Europe till he put 
to it the finishing touch. 

Macaulay spent eight years on his History of England. 

Matthew Hale, the great jurist, devoted himself to 
legal subjects during sixteen hours a day for many years ; 
and when fatigued with the study of the law, he would 
divert himself by that of philosophy and other depart- 
ments of science. 

Montesquieu, referring to one of his works, said to a 
friend : " You will read it in a few hours ; but, I assure 
you, it cost me so much labor that it has whitened my 
hair." 

Pliny, the Younger, tells us that the elder Pliny, his 
uncle, the naturalist, had himself carried in a litter to the 
Senate House that, reading and writing by the way, he 
might not lose an instant. He was so economical of 
time that he read at his daily meals. After devoting 
the whole day to business affairs, he was in the habit 
of spending several hours of the night at his favorite 
investigations. During his course of studies, he kept by 

1 Gibbon's Memoirs, Vol. I. 



PERSEVERING LABOR, THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE. 399 

him his tablets and copyist, for he took notes of every 
thing he read. 

Sir Isaac Newton is said to have written his Chronology 
fifteen times before it entirely pleased him. His great 
work on Optics was not published till 1704, though it 
was begun as early as 1675. When questioned as to how 
he had made his wonderful discoveries, he replied: "By 
always thinking unto them," On another occasion, he 
said : " I keep the subject continually before me, and wait 
till the first dawnings open slowly by little and little into 
a full and clear light." He remarked to Dr. Bentley : 
"If I have done the public any service, it is due to 
nothing but industry and patient thought." 

Adam Clarke, in his preface to his Commentary on the 
New Testament, says : " In this arduous labor, I have 
had no assistants, not even a single week's help from an 
amanuensis; no person to look for common places, or 
refer to an ancient author, to find out the place and tran- 
scribe a passage of Greek, Latin, or any other language, 
which my memory had generally recalled, or to verify a 
quotation. I have labored alone for nearly twenty-five 
years previously to the work being sent to press; and 
fifteen years have been employed in bringing it through 
the press to the public; and thus about forty years of 
my life have been consumed." 

"We shall hardly find among the Fathers of the Church 
a more indefatigable laborer in the department of sacred 
science than St. Jerome. He chose for his sphere one of 
the most arduous portions of the field of theology, — 
biblical studies in general, besides the translation of the 
Bible, and what we would now call biblical criticism in 
particular. The difficult task of comparing texts and 



200 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

collating manuscripts was one of the numerous occupa- 
tions that divided his time in the grotto of Bethlehem. 
Nor did he limit himself to the Sacred Writings, for the 
great theological questions of the day called forth all his 
energies. He devoted himself to biography, and yet he 
found time for those numerous epistles, in which the 
character of the man is so well portrayed. 

When we reflect on the extent of his biblical studies, 
his revision of the Vulgate according to the text of the 
Septuagint, his numerous commentaries and, above all, 
his translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew, 
we are almost at a loss to know how so much work could 
be crowded into one life. And yet this was only a portion 
of St. Jerome's labors. He found time to translate the 
Chronicles of Eusebius into Latin, he interpreted the 
Homilies of Origen, and he composed treatises on various 
subjects, besides taking an active part in the great con- 
troversies of his day, and being engaged in very extensive 
correspondence. 

What was the secret of his success? I think I can 
safely answer that it was his constant application. Tal- 
ents of a high order he, indeed, possessed ; but his talents 
would have availed him little without an indomitable 
will. At the age of thirty, he began the study of 
Hebrew, knowing how useful and even necessary this 
language would be to him in his scriptural researches. 
" How much labor/' he says, "it cost me, what difficulties 
I encountered, how often I despaired, how frequently I 
gave up, and again striving to learn, began anew, I, the 
sufferer, can testify, as well as those who lived with me, 
and I thank the Lord that I now reap the sweet fruit of 
that bitter pathway of study." 



PERSEVERINO LABOR, THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE. 201 

In Bethlehem, St. Jerome slept little, prayed much, 
and spent the rest of his time in teaching others, in 
receiving strangers who came to him from all parts of 
the Christian world, and in answering their questions. 
His nights he reserved for his own studies, and the 
works he has bequeathed to us are the fruit of many a 
silent night-watch. 

The leaders in the field of art not less than in the 
world of letters, have attributed their success to diligent 
labor and patient industry. Sir Joshua Reynolds, writ- 
ing to Barry, says: "Whoever is resolved to excel in 
painting, or indeed in any other art, must bring all his 
mind to bear upon that one object from the moment that 
he rises till he goes to bed." 

Michael Angelo's sublime conceptions would have faded 
like a dream, had his industry not perpetuated them in 
marble or on canvas. He was a most indefatigable 
worker. He sustained himself with a little bread and 
wine during his daily working hours, and very frequently 
he arose at night to resume his labors. One day, he was 
explaining to a visitor (perhaps impatient of the artist's 
delay) what progress he had made on a statue since his 
previous visit : " I have," he said, " retouched this part, 
polished that, softened this feature, brought out that 
muscle, given some expression to this lip, and more 
energy to that limb." " But they are trifles," observed 
the visitor. "It may be so," rejoined the artist, "but 
recollect that trifles go to make perfection, and perfec- 
tion is no trifle." 

Titian was eight years engaged on his great painting, 
" The Martyrdom of St. Peter," and seven on his " Last 
Supper." Writing to Charles V., he said : " I send 



202 



THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST, 



your Majesty 'The Last Supper/ after working at it 
almost daily for seven years." At the age of eighty-one, 
he executed "The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence," now in 
a church of Venice, and he continued to work till he had 
attained his ninety-ninth year. 

Leonardo da Vinci is said to have walked the length 
of the city of Milan, to give a tint to his " Last Supper." 

Turner, the celebrated English painter, of whom Mi\ 
Ruskin speaks in terms of the highest praise, was once 
asked by a lady what was the secret of his success. He 
answered : " Work, Madam, work." 

"You have no idea," said Mr. Ruskin, the eminent 
art critic, "of the labor and pain it is to me to write 
these books of mine that seem to you so easy." Putting 
into his visitor's hand the manuscript of his most recent 
publication, he added: "Look at that. You will scarcely 
find one sentence as it was first written." And such was 
the case. Words were crossed out, and others substituted 
in their place, sometimes whole sentences rearranged, and 
this throughout the whole manuscript. 

From these examples, we see that they who have 
attained to eminence or distinction in the field of oratory, 
literature, art, or science, have been hard and indefati- 
gable workers. They have concentrated their mind on 
the goal of knowledge to which they aspired. They 
have made even their discursive reading subservient to 
that end, just as the bee converts into honey the nourish- 
ment it snatches from every flower on which it alights. 
The more the mind is centred on one particular subject, 
the more tenacious is its grasp of it, just as the heat of 
the sun's rays is more intense when brought to a focus. 



PERSEVERING LABOR, THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE. 203 

If our attention is divided among many objects, its force 
is proportionately weakened : 

" Pluribus intentus minor est ad singula sensus." 

So much, indeed, have profound thinkers been absorbed 
by their studies, that they have often been beguiled into 
a state of abstraction and absent-mindedness, which ren- 
dered them unconscious of what was transpiring around 
them. It is related in the Life of St. Thomas Aquinas 
that, being invited to dine with Louis IX., King of 
France, he sat at table rapt in his own thoughts, entirely 
oblivious of the presence of his royal host and the 
guests. All of a sudden, he vehemently struck the table, 
exclaiming: " The argument is conclusive against the 
Manichees." His Prior, who sat next to him, pulled his 
mantle, and bade him remember where he was. The 
Angelic Doctor apologized to the King for his forgetful- 
ness; but Louis, fearing lest St. Thomas should lose 
sight of his train of thought, ordered his secretary to 
write it down on the spot. 

The biographer of Dante relates that the poet went one 
day to a great public procession, and entered the shop of 
a bookseller to be a spectator of the passing show. Find- 
ing a book that greatly interested him, he devoured it in 
silence, and plunged into the abyss of thought. On his 
return home, he declared that he had neither seen nor 
heard the slightest occurrence of the public exhibition 
that passed before him. 

The Right Rev. Charles Walmesley, Vicar Apostolic 
of the London District, who consecrated Bishop Carroll 
of Baltimore, was a very distinguished scholar, as well as 



204 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

a devoted Prelate. In 1750, he was, on the recom- 
mendation of BufFon, D'Alembert, and other eminent 
scientists, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of 
Great Britain. He was, also, a member of the Royal 
Academy of Berlin. When England determined to adopt 
the Gregorian Calendar, he was one of the learned men 
consulted by the British Government to arrange the 
new Calendar. 

It is said that, one day, while celebrating Mass, the 
bishop's mind became unconsciously absorbed by a mathe- 
matical subject, and, forgetful of the sacred function he 
was performing, he seized the paten for a pencil, used the 
altar cloth for paper, and set to work to solve the prob- 
lem. After spending several minutes abstracted in medi- 
tation, he suddenly realized the situation, and so much 
was he shocked by his ill-timed investigation that, when 
Mass was over, he ordered his servant to lock up his 
mathematical books, resolved to discontinue those studies 
in the future. 

There is no royal highway to the mountain of knowl- 
edge. The only way is the rugged road of labor. Learn- 
ing comes not to any one by heredity or descent. The 
father may bequeath to his son the temporal possessions 
he has accumulated, but he cannot transmit to him his 
acquired wealth of lore. Erudition cannot be bought 
with gold. Minerva will not be lured by bribes to dis- 
criminate in favor of any of her votaries. No man can 
contend by proxy in the arena of intellectual strife. He 
cannot win glory by purchasing a substitute. He must 
fight his own battles. Every toiler in the field of letters 
must plough his own field and plant his own seed, if he 
hopes to reap the harvest of learning. 



PERSEVERING LABOR, THE KEY TO KNOWLEDGE. 205 

The classical scholar of to-day may have at his dis- 
posal handier instruments of labor, and greater facility 
for obtaining them than his ancestors; but it is much 
to be feared that the multiplication of text-books and 
works of reference, together with the copious notes and 
translations at his side, while smoothing his path, have 
weakened his energies in the pursuit of knowledge. He 
may cover more ground, but he is apt to plough less 
deep and to reap a smaller harvest than his fathers, who 
plodded without the aid of labor-saving machines. 

A scholar, fired with laudable ambition, should not be 
dismayed because he does not hope to rival the intel- 
lectual giants to whom reference has been made. He 
will not aspire to emulate Burke or Webster in forensic 
oratory, or Bossuet and England in pulpit eloquence. 
His muse will not lead him to those giddy heights of 
Parnassus which have been attained by Dante and Milton. 
He will not push his scientific researches as far as Newton 
and Faraday. He will never be a Michael Angelo in 
sculpture, or a Raphael in painting. But between the 
summit of the mount and its base, there are many inter- 
vening resting places, many points of vantage-ground, 
which it is honorable to gain. A man can be an able 
lawyer without aiming to become a Marshall or a Taney ; 
he may be a learned theologian without presuming to be 
a St. Augustine or a St. Thomas. If we have not been 
favored with ten talents, let us make the best possible use 
of the one or the five that we have received. Our re- 
sponsibility to God and to society will be measured by 
the use we shall make of the talents that have been 
given to us. 



206 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Our American authors of distinction are not so numerous 
as they should be, because they write in too much haste. 
Fast eating makes us dyspeptic ; fast travelling makes us 
nervous; fast working shortens our life; and hasty writing 
gives an ephemeral character to our publications. 

If America is to become a successful rival of Europe 
in the field of letters, as she already is in the com- 
mercial and scientific world, her sons must work with 
more painstaking diligence, and burn more freely the 
midnight oil. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Sources of Discouragement in the Pursuit 

of Knowledge. 

SOME students after perusing the examples given in 
the foregoing chapter, may be convinced, indeed, 
of the triumph of industry, but their zeal in the pursuit 
of science may be dampened by obstacles or difficulties 
personal to themselves. They may be deterred by the 
consciousness of their own slowness and dulness in acquir- 
ing knowledge, or discouraged by a feeble constitution, or 
some organic complaint ; or they may be appalled by the 
multifarious occupations that distract and bewilder them. 

Let us take up these objections categorically, confront 
them resolutely, and see whether or not they are insur- 
mountable. 

1°. Some one will say : I am naturally dull of com- 
prehension ; my mind is slow and sluggish. I experience 
great difficulty in grasping a subject, while many of my 
colleagues are blessed with extraordinary facility. They 
run so fast that I cannot keep pace with them. In my 
first efforts at public speaking, I was timid and bashful, 
I nearly lost my head, and I have never since regained 
my composure when addressing an audience. I am, 
therefore, downcast and dispirited. I entertain but faint 
hopes of success from any exertion I may continue to 
.make in the paths of learning and of oratory. 

207 



208 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

This is not an unusual source of disheartenment. I 
have known a zealous and venerable priest who was 
seized with stage-fright on delivering his first sermon, and 
who never afterward could summon courage to preach. 
If he had forced himself to face the congregation a second 
and a third time, he would have conquered his timidity. 

For the comfort of backward and diffident minds, I 
will observe that some of the most learned scholars and 
most successful orators were at the foot of their class in 
the early stage of their studies. The consciousness of 
their natural defects far from depressing, stimulated them 
to greater ardor, while many who possessed innate apti- 
tude for learning, subsequently failed, their very facility 
proving a dangerous and fatal gift, which led them to 
indulge habits of indolence. 

The first sermons of Savonarola, the great Dominican, 
disappointed his hearers, both in Ferrara and Florence. 
His diminutive size and harsh voice, his homeliness of 
speech and embarrassment of manner told against him. 
But instead of sinking under the humiliation, he reso- 
lutely kept on preaching to peasants and children, mean- 
while practising elocution in his room, till he became one 
of the most captivating orators of his age. 

When Alban Butler, the learned author of The Lives 
of the Saints, was in the first period of his studies in the 
English College, at Douay, he was obliged to rise long 
before the regular hour in order to keep up with his 
companions in class. 

Benjamin Disraeli, in his maiden speech in the House 
of Commons, was jeered and cried down by the members. 
Undismayed by their clamor, he said : " I have several 
times begun many things, and I have succeeded at last. 



SOURCKS OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 209 

I shall sit down now, but the time will come when you 
will hear me." His prediction was fulfilled. He after- 
ward became one of the most brilliant and effective 
speakers in the British Parliament, and even Prime 
Minister of England. 

Dr. Boyd writes in Longman's Magazine : * " The 
master of the school, Mr. Rawson, declared that Arthur 
Stanley (the future Dean Stanley), was the most stupid 
boy at figures that ever came under his care, save only 
one, who was yet more hopeless, and was unable to grasp 
simple addition and multiplication. That other stupid 
boy more hopeless than Stanley, became the great finance 
minister of after years, William E. Gladstone, w r ho could 
make a budget speech of three hours' length, and full of 
figures, which so interested the members of the House of 
Commons, that they filled the hall standing and sitting 
till midnight." The incident has this important moral, 
that a youth may, by hard study, overcome his natural 
repugnance to a branch of knowledge, and even become 
an eminent master of it. 

The mother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, when pre- 
senting him to his tutor, is represented as speaking of him 
as an incorrigible dunce. His first speech in the House 
of Commons was a great disappointment to his colleagues. 
And yet that which he delivered during the impeachment 
trial of Warren Hastings, " produced an impression," as 
Macaulay says, "such as has never been equalled." Mr. 
Fox assigned to this oration the first place among all the 
speeches ever delivered in the British Parliament. 

Oliver Goldsmith speaks of himself as a plant that 
flourished, late in life. 

1 February, 1894. 

14 



210 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Sir Isaac Newton, when at school, stood next to the 
bottom of his class in the early part of his course; but 
by dint of study and perseverance, he rose to the front 
rank among his companions. 

Daniel Webster tells us that, when a boy at the 
academy, he could never summon courage enough to 
declaim before his schoolmates. "The kind and excel- 
lent Buch minster," he says, "especially sought to per- 
suade me to perform the exercise of declamation, like the 
other boys, but I could not do it. Many a piece did I 
commit to memory and rehearse in my own room over 
and over again ; but when the day came, when the school 
collected, when my name was called, and I saw all eyes 
turned upon my seat, I could not raise myself from it. 
Sometimes the masters frowned, sometimes they smiled. 
Mr. Buchminster always pressed and entreated with the 
most winning kindness that I would venture once ; but 
I could not command sufficient resolution, and when the 
occasion was over, I went home and wept bitter tears of 
mortification." 

Chief Justice Taney, referring to his valedictory when 
graduating, says : " I was sadly frightened, and trembled 
in every limb, and my voice was husky and unmanage- 
able. I was sensible of all this, much mortified by it, 
and my feeling of mortification made matters worse. 
Fortunately, my speech had been so well committed to 
memory, that I went through without the aid of a 
prompter. But the pathos of leave-taking from the pro- 
fessors and my classmates, which had been so carefully 
worked out in the written oration, was, I doubt not, 
spoiled by the embarrassment under which it was de- 
livered." 



SOURCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 211 

He thus described his timidity in the first case he had 
to plead before a court of justice : " I took no notes, for 
my hand shook so that I could not have written a word 
legibly if my life depended on it ; and when I rose to 
speak, I was obliged to fold my arms over my breast, 
pressing them firmly against my body ; and my knees 
trembled under me so much that I was obliged to press 
my limbs against the table before me, to keep me steady 
on my feet; yet under all these disadvantages, I de- 
termined to struggle for composure and calmness of mind, 
and by a strong effort of the will, I managed to keep 
possession of the reasoning faculties, and made a pretty 
good argument in the case, but in a tremulous and some- 
times discordant voice." This same embarrassment, he 
says, seized him for years afterward, though no one but 
himself was conscious of it. "Indeed," he adds, "this 
morbid sensibility Mas so painful to me in the first years 
of my practice, that I am not sure that I should not 
have abandoned it, if I had been rich enough to live 
without it." 1 

Dr. Milner, the author of The End of Controversy, 
informs us that, when he first went to school he did not 
get on well, but appeared di 11 and stupid, and said his 
lessons very indifferently. O m day, when he happened 
to do well, his master was so pleased with him that he 
gave him a colored print as a reward and encouragement. 
"This," he used to say, "was the turning point in my 
school career; I felt fresh animation and confidence, and 
ever after studied with success and improved to the satis- 
faction of my masters." 2 How precious to a diffident 

1 Memoir of Roger B r Taney, Chap. I. 2 Life of Pd. Rev. Dr. Milner. 



212 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

student is a word of encouragement and a deed of kindness 
from his professor. 

General Grant in his Personal Memoirs, makes the 
humble avowal that he stood next to the bottom of his 
class at West Point; and General Sheridan asserts in his 
Memoirs that he " graduated at West Point, number 
thirty-four in a membership of fifty-two." 

A kind-hearted teacher will take a fatherly interest 
in the backward and timid pupil who is conscientiously 
striving to succeed, just as the mother has a special ten- 
derness for an afflicted or a delicate child. Dr. Arnold 
observes : " If there be one thing on earth which is truly 
admirable, it is to see God's wisdom blessing an inferi- 
ority of natural powers, when they have been honestly, 
truly, and zealously cultivated." At Lakeham, when 
teaching a rather backward boy, he rebuked him some- 
what severely, whereon the pupil plaintively looking up 
to him, said : " Why do you speak angrily, Sir? Indeed 
I am doins: the best I can." Dr. Arnold keenly felt the 
rebuke, and years afterward he used to say : " That look 
and that speech I have never forgotten." l 

2°. Feeble health is another source of discouragement 
to many an aspiring student; for earnest and diligent 
application requires physical, as well as mental exertion, 
and mental exertion is more or less painful to frail con- 
stitutions. 

But the pupil of a delicate frame will derive much 
consolation and encouragement from the reflection, that 
many of the most illustrious scholars in Church and 
State have labored under the disadvantage of a diseased 
or infirm body. 

1 Self-help, Samuel Smiles. 



SOURCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 213 

To begin with the great Apostle of the Gentiles : : — The 
Corinthians said of him, "His bodily presence is weak, 
and his speech contemptible." * And still what fatigues 
were undergone by that weak body ! " In journeying 
often, in labor and painfulness, in hunger and thirst, in 
fastings often, in cold and nakedness." 2 And the echoes 
of that "contemptible" voice have resounded in thunder- 
ing tones throughout the world, and have made princes 
tremble on their thrones. Nor can it be doubted that 
the sermons of St. Paul were the fruit of study, as well 
as of prayer. His Epistles give intrinsic evidence of a 
cultivated, as well as of an inspired mind. 

Timothy, notwithstanding his "frequent infirmities," 
was a diligent student of the Holy Scriptures, as St. Paul 
testifies; 3 and the Apostle, while prescribing for his dis- 
ciple's physical maladies, 4 exhorts him not to desist from 
study, but to continue to apply to reading, to exhortation, 
and to doctrine. 5 

What life has been more active or more fruitful in 
the Church than that of Pope Gregory the Great ? The 
bare enumeration of the Councils he convened, of the 
nations he converted, of the letters he wrote, the works 
he edited, the sermons he preached, and of the deeds of 
charity he performed during the thirteen years of his 
Pontificate, fills us with amazement ; and yet Gregory 
suffered during his life from frequent ailments and hab- 
itual infirmity of body. 

St. Basil was a confirmed invalid. In one of his 
Epistles, 6 he says that, in his best physical condition, he 
was weaker than patients usually are whose recovery is 

'IT. Cor. x. 10. »n. Tim. in. 15. 5 Ibid. iv. 13. 

2 Ibid. xi. 26,27. 4 L Tim. v. 23. G Epis. 257. 



214 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

despaired of by their physicians. When Modestus, in 
the name of the Emperor Valens, threatened to torture 
and banish him if he did not conform to the Arian 
heresy, Basil replied: "I fear not your torments. My 
emaciated body cannot hold out long under them/' With 
all his infirmities, Basil was a close student. He excelled 
in the liberal arts, in natural sciences, in philosophy and 
poetry, as well as in theology and sacred eloquence ; and 
although charged with the government of an important 
diocese, he has left six octavo volumes rich in intellectual 
and spiritual treasures. 

The austerities practised by St. John Chrysostom in 
his youth, the privations he endured during his six years' 
sojourn in the mountains near Antioch, together with his 
incessant preaching, impaired his lungs and made him 
the victim of many distempers. Yet though he ruled the 
Patriarchal See of Constantinople, and was harassed by 
the persecutions of temporal and spiritual princes, the 
productions of his pen are so copious as to fill thirteen 
folio volumes. 

St. Bernard was rarely exempt from some corporal in- 
firmity. From a habit of excessive abstemiousness, his 
stomach could hardly retain solid food ; yet he never 
seemed to take any rest. He was indefatigable in preach- 
ing the word of God, in inditing letters, and in composing 
spiritual treatises, all marked by evidences of profound 
meditation. They display so intimate an acquaintance 
with the Scriptures, that almost every page is dovetailed 
with passages from the Sacred Text. 

During the last thirty-four years of his life, St. Al- 
phonsus suffered from constant distempers, which became 
aggravated with time; but he never permitted his ail- 



SOURCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 215 

ments to interrupt his ministerial or literary labors. The 
formidable vow which he took and faithfully kept, of 
never losing a moment of time, serves to explain to us 
how so many learned works could be written by him 
amid physical suffering so continuous. His contempo- 
raries justly compare him in this respect to St. Jerome, 
of whom it is said : " Morbos perpetua lectione et scripti- 
one superabat" 

Cardinal Newman never enjoyed robust health. His 
letters reveal a constant solicitude on the score of overwork 
and its consequences. His constitution, indeed, showed 
singular powers of continuous application all through 
his life; but there was not, even in his early days, the 
sense or aspect of exuberant health. In his busiest years, 
toothache was a constant source of suffering; indeed, it 
seems to have been somewhat abnormal. 1 

Cardinal Manning was the most emaciated prelate I 
ever met. His bloodless face was almost transparent. 
Owing to his weak digestion, he habitually ate very 
sparingly of the simplest food. When obliged to dine 
out, he partook only of a biscuit and a glass of water, 
for he never indulged in wine even in his feeblest con- 
dition. He was most indefatigable in active labors, and 
a close student as well. When travelling, he read and 
even w T rote. In the notice of his Religio Viatoris, he 
states that "being for many days on a journey without 
work or books, I thought that it might be a fair time 
to write down, in fewest words, the reasons for what I 
belie ve." The little book remains as he then penned it. 
This is a fair sample of his habit of improving every 
hour, and of studying and writing w^hile others under 

1 John H. Newman's Letters and Correspondence, by Anne Mozley. 



216 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

similar circumstances would feel justified in taking rest. 
Archbishop Spalding said to him in my presence, during 
the Vatican Council : " I know not how Your Grace can 
work so hard, for you scarcely eat or drink or sleep." 

Archbishop Spalding, of Baltimore, was not only a 
laborious missionary, but also a diligent student, a pro- 
lific writer, and an indefatigable preacher and lecturer. 
I never knew him to decline an invitation to preach even 
during his much-needed summer vacation. Wherever he 
was sojourning, the people, without distinction of faith, 
were eager to hear him. Though a man of untiring 
energy, he was, during the last twenty-five years of his 
life, a chronic sufferer from an acute form of bronchial 
and gastric affection. 

Andrew Lang says that Sir Walter Scott wrote The 
Bride of Lammermoor and Ivanhoe amid spasms of a pain 
so severe, that he was insensible to the burning applica- 
tions made on his flesh. 

Of the Rev. Frederick W. Faber, the author of so 
many popular Catholic works, the Rev. John Edward 
Bowden writes : " With regard to his occupations at 
Oxford, the friend who knew him intimately during 
the whole of his undergraduate career, can attest to the 
innocence and joyousness of his life, and to the determi- 
nation with which, in spite of severe and often of excruci- 
ating headache, he formed those habits of study which 
were the foundation of his future learning." The malady 
of Father Faber's youth clung to him through life. In 
the Preface to one of his books, he tells us that he wrote 
for the most part in feeble health. 

Cicero informs us that, when a young advocate, he was 
compelled to suspend his professional labors, as he felt 



SOURCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 217 

"himself unequal to the exertiou of public speaking. He 
spent two years in Greece to repair his shattered health. 1 
" He was lean and meagre, and had such a weakness of 
stomach, that he could take nothing but a spare and thin 
diet, and that not till late in the evening." 2 

Virgil, also, was of a delicate frame and a feeble con- 
stitution. 

The violence and variety of the complaints with which 
Gibbon, the historian, was afflicted in his youth, necessi- 
tated his frequent absence from Westminster School. A 
distressing disease contracted his nerves, and produced the 
most excruciating pain. He continued to be an invalid 
till his sixteenth year. 3 

The History of the German People, by Dr. Janssen, 
is regarded as one of the most searching historical pro- 
ductions of this century ; yet its author was always in 
poor health. He suffered from weakness of the eyes and 
general debility. He had frequent hemorrhages and, on 
eight different occasions before his last illness, his death 
was expected ; but he was never deterred by his bodily 
infirmities from prosecuting his literary labors. 

Dr. Samuel Johnson was born with a diseased consti- 
tution. He was the victim of malignant scrofula, which 
permanently affected his sight and hearing. In the first 
years of his literary career, he wrote in the midst of pri- 
vations, and was obliged to dine most economically. 

Alexander Pope was a life-long invalid, as Dr. John- 
son tells us. For several years before his death, he was 
afflicted with asthma and other diseases, which baffled 
the skill of his physicians. 

1 D* Clar. Oral., 91. 3 Gibbon's Memoirs, Vol. i. 

2 Plutarch's Life of Cicero. 



218 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

3°. How many others, also, have stamped their name 
on the pages of history as legislators, poets, historians, 
and orators notwithstanding their serious organic com- 
plaints ! Some were afflicted with an impediment of 
speech, others with total or partial blindness, and others 
with deafness. 

When Moses was chosen to be the leader of the He- 
brew people, he interposed as an obstacle his hesitancy of 
speech : u I beseech Thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from 
yesterday and the day before : and since Thou hast spoken 
to Thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of 
tongue. The Lord said to him : Go, therefore, and I 
will be in thy mouth, and I will teach thee what thou 
shalt speak. " l 

Demosthenes, the prince of orators, was a youth of weak 
and delicate health. He was so emaciated in appearance 
that his companions nicknamed him Batalus from an 
attenuated contemporary of that name. 2 On account of 
serious defects in his voice and delivery, he made so un- 
favorable an impression on his audience in his first eifort, 
that they ridiculed and interrupted him. But instead of 
yielding to despondency, he subjected himself to a severe 
discipline with the view of overcoming his natural im- 
pediment of speech. He was accustomed to recite several 
verses without interruption with pebbles in his mouth 
while ascending a steep grade. He used, also, to declaim 
on the sea-shore, to inure himself to the tumultuous shouts 
of the multitude. 

St. Augustine says that the voice of St. Ambrose was 
weakened by very little speaking, and yet he preached 
every Sunday. 8 

1 Exod. iv. 10-12. - Plutarch "Confessions, H. vi. 



SOURCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 219 

St. Charles Borromeo overcame by incessant labor and 
attention his natural impediment of speech, and it was 
only after repeated disputations and discourses, that he 
subdued his bashfulness and timidity in preaching the 
Gospel. 

John Philpot Curran, on account of his stammering 
habit at school, was commonly called by his fellow- 
students, " Stuttering Jack Curran." He succeeded in 
correcting his defective enunciation by reading aloud 
every day with emphasis and distinctness, passages from 
the best English authors, and he overcame his native 
awkwardness of manner by speaking and gesticulating 
before a mirror. 

Milton dictated the poems of Paradise Lost and Para- 
dise Regained, when he was totally blind, distracted by 
pain, and tortured by domestic infelicity. 

William H. Prescott, the American historian, even 
from his college days, was a victim to impaired sight. 
During the latter half of his life, his eyes were so weak 
that he could read only for a few moments at a time, 
and he could hardly see distinctly enough to write at all. 
Yet he spent ten years in the study of modern languages 
as a remote preparation for his historical works. He 
afterward devoted ten years more to the composition of 
his History of Ferdinand and Isabella ; then six to The 
Conquest of Mexico ; and, lastly, four to The Conquest of 
Peru. During this toilsome period of thirty years, he 
had to employ the services of a reader and amanuensis. 

Beethoven suffered from almost total deafness when he 
composed his greatest musical works. 

While w r e are filled with admiration for these perse- 
vering men who, undeterred by physical infirmities, have 



220 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

risen to intellectual eminence, we cannot lose sight of the 
fact, that sound health is the greatest of earthly blessings. 
If so many leaders in the republic of letters have attained 
such distinction though hampered by bodily ailments, we 
may reasonably suppose that they would have won still 
greater laurels, had they been endowed with a vigorous 
and healthy frame. It behooves all students, therefore, 
while diligently engaged in the pursuit of knowledge, to 
beware of sowing the seeds of disease by excessive or 
indiscreet application. Mens sana in corpore sano, is a 
maxim always to be kept in view. Though St. Paul 
declares that " piety is profitable for all things," he asserts 
also that " bodily exercise is useful." * For the promotion 
of bodily health, it were much to be desired that gymnasia 
and other means of healthful exercise were established in 
all our collegiate and academic institutions ; and it is 
gratifying to observe that much attention has of late years 
been given by the heads of colleges to the important sub- 
ject of physical culture. 

4°. But the most formidable obstacles that confront a 
clergyman in the pursuit of study, are the multitudinous 
and distracting cares and duties of the ministry. As the 
devoted father and counsellor of the people, he is liable 
to be interrupted at any hour of the day or night, and 
new and unforeseen obligations are thrust upon him in an 
endless chain of succession. When a leisure hour comes 
to him, he may find it hard to control his wandering 
imagination, to compose his mind, and to concentrate his 
thoughts on serious literary subjects. 

Yet strange to say, the most voluminous writers in the 
Christian world have been actively engaged in the sacred 

1 1. Tim. iv. 8. 



SOURCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 221 

ministry. Nearly all the Fathers of the Church were 
bishops charged with the government of large dioceses. 
I have already spoken of the studious habits of Gregory, 
Chrysostom and Basil. 

During the five and thirty years that St. Augustine ruled 
the See of Hippo as its chief pastor, he was habitually 
engaged in preaching the Gospel, in visiting his diocese, 
and in administering the Sacraments. When we consider 
the activity of his public life, there would seem to be but 
little room left for composing books; and yet we cannot 
but marvel at the extent of his literary labors when we 
contemplate the nine volumes in folio which are the fruit 
of his brain. 

St. Augustine gives us a touching and graphic picture 
of Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, employing in deep 
study the brief and uncertain intervals at his disposal 
between the numerous business calls that were made on 
him. "Often," he says, "when we entered his room 
unannounced (for it was permitted to all to do so), we 
silently observed him reading, and never otherwise en- 
gaged; and after remaining for a considerable time, we 
quietly withdrew, without having the heart to disturb 
him from the meditations in which he was absorbed." * 

Alfred the Great was twelve years of age before he w r as 
taught to read, and forty before he began the study of 
Latin. Reckoning from that period to the time of his 
death, which occurred in his fifty-second year, he could 
claim but twelve years for scholastic pursuits. Yet he was 
regarded as the best poet, the ablest writer, and probably 
the most learned man of his kingdom. Edmund Burke 
says of Alfred : " One cannot help being amazed that a 

*St. Augustine's Confessions, B. vi. 



222 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

prince who lived in such turbulent times, who commanded 
personally in fifty-four pitched battles, who had so dis- 
cordant a province to regulate, who was not only a legisla- 
tor, but a judge, and who was continually superintending 
his armies, the traffic of his kingdom, his revenues and 
the conduct of all, could have bestowed so much time 
on religious exercises and speculative knowledge." The 
secret of his success is found in his estimate of the value 
of time, and in his methodical distribution of the hours 
of the day. 

It would be difficult to find any churchmen who have 
been more diligently engaged in apostolic labors than the 
celebrated Bishop Challoner. His vicariate included the 
city of London, and during his eventful life he had to 
contend with poverty and religious persecution. He was 
a melancholy spectator of the Lord George Gordon anti- 
Catholic riots of 1780, which involved the demolition of 
so many of his chapels and which hastened his death. 
We wonder how, notwithstanding his busy public life, 
he found time to publish so many works. Besides issuing 
a revised translation of the Sacred Scriptures with ex- 
planatory notes, he wrote some twelve books covering a 
wide range of doctrinal, historical, and devotional litera- 
ture, the titles of which are still familiar to the English 
Catholic reader. 

Bishop Hay, who was a contemporary of Bishop Chal- 
loner, endured in Scotland the same trials and tribulations 
that his venerable colleague had to suffer in England. 
His jurisdiction embraced about one-half of Scotland. It 
is hard to realize how, amid his incessant journeyings, 
labors and correspondence, he had sufficient leisure to 
write the three learned works he has left us, — so cogent 



SOURCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 223 

in reasoning, and so replete with scriptural quotations, — 
The Sincere Christian, The Devout Christian, and The 
Pious Christian. 

The United States can also furnish some notable ex- 
amples of prelates and priests who, notwithstanding the 
distractions and interruptions of missionary life, have 
enlightened posterity by their pen, as they instructed 
their own generation by their apostolic labors. 

The diocese of Bishop England, of Charleston, com- 
prised the three States of South Carolina, North Carolina, 
and Georgia. As those States did not contain a single 
railroad in his day, he was obliged to traverse the immense 
area of his jurisdiction in vehicles or on horseback. He 
was habitually engaged in preaching at home, or in some 
other part of the country. Owing to the scarcity of 
clergymen in his diocese, he had frequently to perform 
the ordinary duties of a missionary priest. He opened a 
seminary in Charleston where he himself taught theology. 
He established a Catholic periodical of which he was the 
editor-in-chief, and sometimes, through dearth of funds, 
he even had, also, to set the type. We could hardly 
imagine that a bishop, engrossed by ministerial labors so 
varied, would have time for serious study and writing, 
had we not the evidence before us of his intellectual pur- 
suits in six volumes covering a wide field of historical, 
polemical and liturgical literature. 

Few prelates have been more indefatigable in mission- 
ary duties than Archbishop Kenrick, of Baltimore. And 
yet his literary labors are so copious and profound that 
they would do honor to a professor exempt from the cares 
of the ministry. His works comprise a Moral and Dog- 
matic Theology, a new Translation of the Sacred Scriptures 



224 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

with explanatory notes, the Primacy of the Apostolic See, 
and A Vindication of the Catholic Church, besides several 
minor productions. So collected and concentrated was 
his mind, and so industrious his habits that, on returning 
home after several days' visitation, he would sit at his 
desk and resume his pen without even laying aside his 
travelling dress. 

Rev. Simon Gabriel Brute, afterward Bishop of 
Vincennes, used to walk from Emmittsburg to Balti- 
more, a distance of sixty miles, reading during the 
journey some classical author, or the Scriptures, or 
some historical work, and making critical notes all 
the while. 

During the sixty-five years of his ministry, Wesley is 
said to have travelled about 270,000 miles, or an average 
of nearly 4,200 miles a year, and he delivered over 
40,000 sermons besides numerous addresses and exhorta- 
tions. He was withal a voluminous writer, and his 
works cover a wide range of subjects. 

I venture to affirm that there are few clergymen in the 
country, no matter how extensive their parish, how nu- 
merous their flock, how pressing their ministerial duties; 
no matter how much they may be pre-occupied by material 
constructions, or how deeply immersed in indispensable 
financial operations, — there are few, I maintain, who 
cannot have at their disposal as much opportunity for 
earnest study as the Challoners and the Mannings, the 
Englands and the Kenricks could command in their day. 
Though oppressed by the cares inseparable from pastoral 
life, they are less handicapped than was Dr. Johnson who 
often wrote for a living when the wolf was at his door. 
This great author says : "Give an hour a day to serious 



SOURCES OF DISCOURAGEMENT. 225 

reading steadily and perse veringly for ten years, and you 
will be a learned man." 

If the priest from the time of his ordination contracts 
the habit of devotiug an hour to study each day, he will 
find the labor easy and delightful ; but if the practice is 
neglected at the close of the seminary career, diligent 
application will become an irksome task for him, and he 
will readily discover pretexts to pretermit altogether this 
important and sacred duty of his sacerdotal life. 



15 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Select Books of a Priest. — The Study 
of Holy Scripture. 

IF two men of equal strength, prowess, and agility 
engage in conflict, the one wielding a blunt and 
cumbersome sword, the other a sharp and well pointed 
blade, victory is almost sure to crown the combatant who 
is the better armed. 

The weapons of the Christian warrior are his books. 
Thrice armed and thrice happy is the priest who has learnt 
to make a judicious selection of a few choice books that 
are to be his daily associates, and who is not easily be- 
guiled from their society by a multitude of others whose 
chief recommendation is often the charm of novelty. One 
trusty friend is more precious than a score of casual ac- 
quaintances. 

Works with ambitious titles and an attractive exterior, 
are thrown on the market in such boundless profusion as 
to bewilder the unwary searcher after knowledge who, 
like a hungry man sitting before a variety of food, will 
be tempted to pass hastily from one dish to another at the 
expense of his mental digestion. 

The book that I recommend to the minister of Christ, 

first and last and above all others, is of course the word 

of God. The Bible is the only book of study that is 

absolutely indispensable to a priest, and hence it is appro- 

226 



THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 227 

priately called by St. Ambrose, "Liber sacerdotalism He 
might be familiar with the whole range of ancient and 
modern literature, and yet his sermons would be lament- 
ably cold and defective, if he happened to be ill-instructed 
in the Sacred Volume. On the other hand, if he is well 
versed in the Holy Scriptures, though a comparative 
stranger to human science, he will preach with edification 
and profit. The clergyman that draws his inspiration 
from the Sacred Text, is easily recognized by the sweet 
unction that flows from his lips. 

The word of God is an inexhaustible treasury of 
heavenly science. It is the only oracle that discloses 
to us the origin and sublime destiny of man, and the 
means of attaining it. It is the key that interprets his 
relations to his Creator. It is the foundation of our 
Christian faith and of our glorious heritage. Its moral 
code is the standard of our lives. If our Christian civil- 
ization is so manifestly superior to all actual and preexist- 
ing social systems, it is indebted for its supremacy to the 
ethical teachings of Holy Writ. 

Viewed as an historical chronicle, it is the most ancient, 
the most authentic, the most instructive and interesting 
record ever presented to mankind. It contains the only 
reliable history of the human race before the Deluge, 
embracing a period of more than fifteen hundred 1 years 
from the creation of Adam to the time of Noe. Were it 
not for the Hebrew annalist, the ante-diluvian world 
would be a complete blank, a subject of mere specula- 
tion to all succeeding generations. The Decalogue is seven 
hundred years older than the jurisprudence of Lycurgus, 

1 Upward of two thousand, according to the Septuagint Chronology. 



228 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

two thousand years older than that of Justinian, twenty- 
seven hundred years older than the Magna Charta, thirty- 
three hundred years older than the Code Napoleon, and 
almost as many years older than the American Constitu- 
tion ; and yet the Decalogue is better known to-day and 
more generally inculcated than any laws ever framed by 
the hand of man. 

It is an historical monument that has remained im- 
pregnable for thousands of years, and has successfully 
withstood the violent shocks of the most formidable 
assailants. There is not a single arch or column or key- 
stone in the sacred edifice that does not show some marks 
of a foreign or domestic assault. But there it stands as 
firm as the Pyramids, unshaken and unriven by the up- 
heavals and revolutions of centuries. 

It gives us the narrative of the most memorable and 
momentous events, and of the most eminent men that have 
ever figured in the theatre of the world. 

There is scarcely a notable incident recorded in Scrip- 
ture that may not serve as a text for some moral reflection. 
Bible facts are sermons as well. Read Massillon's dis- 
courses and you will perceive the truth of this assertion. 
If " history is philosophy teaching by example," this 
definition is specially applicable to the word of God, for 
the Apostle says, " What things soever were written, were 
written for our learning." 

There is not a single virtue that is not embellished by 
the luminous example of some patriarch or prophet, or 
Apostle, or king, or matron in the Sacred Book. 

If you look for an exemplar of unshaken faith and hope 
in God, where will you find it more beautifully portrayed 
than in Abraham ? In David you have a conspicuous 



THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 229 

model of tender piety toward God, and of magnanimity 
toward an enemy. Chastity and filial affection shine forth 
in the life of the Patriarch Joseph. Tobias and Job are 
held up as types of patience and resignation in adversity. 
Martial heroism is strikingly exhibited by Josue, Gedeon, 
and the Machabees; domestic affection, by Jacob and 
Ruth. Susanna is a sublime pattern of conjugal purity ; 
and St. Paul, of burning zeal and apostolic courage. 

Where shall we find a more graphic and impressive 
historical picture than that of Paul, his face emaciated 
after two years' imprisonment, led in chains to the audi- 
ence hall of Felix, the governor at Caesarea? Felix is 
presiding, his adulterous wife beside him. The Apostle, 
with uplifted, manacled hands, preaches to Felix on 
u righteousness, on chastity and the judgment to come." 
Felix, stung by the words of Paul and oppressed by a 
guilty conscience, trembles before his prisoner and hastily 
withdraws from the chamber. Ah, well might he trem- 
ble ! for to righteousness he was a stranger, chastity he 
had violated, and the judgment to come he had reason to 
dread. What a striking instance is this of the supremacy 
of innocence enchained over guilt enthroned! What an 
example to the minister of God to be fearless in the de- 
nunciation of iniquity ! 

While those great luminaries shine forth like stars in 
the firmament, guiding the wayfarer in the path of recti- 
tude, the lives of others recorded in Holy Writ, who had 
fallen from their high estate, serve as beacon-lights, warn- 
ing us to shun the rocks, which occasioned their destruction. 

Saul's disobedience; Samson's and Solomon's licentious- 
ness ; the vengeful spirit and cruelty of Jezabel, with the 
awful retribution that followed ; the treachery of Judas; 



230 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

the falsehood of Ananias and Saphira, — these and other 
examples of the kind are striking object-lessons in the 
hands of God's minister, supplying him with forcible 
arguments to show that no crime can be committed with 
impunity, and that " what a man soweth, that shall he 
reap also." 

The Bible is the only book that our Saviour is known 
ever to have read or quoted in the whole course of His 
public ministry. He makes no allusion whatever to the 
classic literature of Athens or Rome that flourished in 
His day. 

It is the unfailing fountain at which theologians, Doc- 
tors, and the Fathers of the Church have copiously drunk. 
Who have surpassed in pulpit eloquence the Fathers of 
the third, fourth, and fifth centuries? There is a fresh- 
ness, a virility in their sermons which have rarely been 
equalled and never excelled by modern preachers. Their 
giant strength was the result of the invigorating nourish- 
ment on which they fed. The only book of divinity they 
consulted, was the word of God. Origen had studied 
the Bible from his youth. It was his daily practice to 
commit to memory and recite to his father some passages 
of the Scriptures, and to sound their hidden meaning. 

Basil and Gregory Naziauzen spent thirteen years in 
solitude, where they devoted themselves to the study of 
the Sacred Volume to the exclusion of secular authors. 
No week passed in which Chrysostom did not peruse the 
fourteen Epistles of St. Paul. 

"To be ignorant of the Scriptures," writes St. Jerome, 
" is to be ignorant of Jesus Christ." " Head the Scrip- 
tures," he adds. " Let sleep overtake you while holding 
the Sacred Volume, and let the inspired page support 



THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 231 

your drooping head/' He tells us that the young priest, 
Nepotien, by assiduous reading and daily meditation, had 
made his heart the library of Christ. 

The Venerable Bede says : "At the age of seven, I 
entered a monastery where I consecrated my whole life to 
the meditation of the Scriptures/' 1 He died in the act of 
translating the last chapter of St. John's Gospel. 

St. Bernard's sermons are a scriptural mosaic. In fact, 
the Sacred Text is so interwoven with every fibre of the 
discourses and writings of the Fathers, that if the Bible 
were lost, it would be almost fully recovered in their 
works. 

The favorite authors of Bossuet were Isaias and St. 
Paul, besides Homer and Tertullian. His mind was so 
penetrated with the two inspired penmen, that we can 
trace in his sermons, the majesty and sublimity of the 
prophet with the energy and conciseness of the Apostle. 
Mr. Wallon, a French writer, has published a separate 
volume of Bossuet's quotations from the Bible, with the 
view of demonstrating the fact, that he had incorporated 
in his works a very considerable portion of the Sacred 
Scriptures. 

They who have read the speeches of the leading English 
and American statesmen and orators, cannot fail to observe 
what frequent use some of them have made of scriptural 
passages. Biblical parables and historical allusions, alle- 
gories, precepts, maxims, and other striking phrases from 
the Old and the New Testament are freely employed 
to illustrate and adorn their discourses. The Earl of 
Chatham and Lord Brougham, Patrick Henry and 
Daniel Webster are indebted for their richest thoughts 

1 History of the Anglo-Saxon Church. 



232 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

to the pages of Holy Writ. In a single speech of Web- 
ster, I counted over a dozen references to the Word of 
God. One of his finest perorations is a paraphrase of the 
hundred and thirty-eighth Psalm. 1 

If it would be a shame for a statesman to be exceeded 
by a churchman in the science and discussion of statecraft 
and of the civil Constitution, it would be no less humil- 
iating to a churchman to be surpassed by a statesman in 
the knowledge and application of the Scriptures, which 
are the groundwork of the divine Constitution of the 
Church. 

Apart from its inspired character, the Bible is a model 
of literary excellence. What classic author, ancient or 
modern, can excel Isaias and St. John in sublimity of 
conception? or the Books of Samuel or those of Kings, 
and the Gospels in the charm and conciseness of historical 
narrative? or Jeremiah's Lamentations in pathos and 
tenderness? or Paul in eloquence? or the Apocalypse in 
descriptive power ? or Job in majestic and terrible images ? 
or David in elevation of poetic thought? 

The grandest poetic creations of human genius pale 
before the Psalmody of the Royal Prophet. Milton and 
Dante have borrowed their noblest images from the pages 
of the Sacred Writings. 

The simplicity of Hebrew pastoral life is portrayed in 
Ruth in a style so charming and so true to nature that it 
is not excelled by any passage in Homer, or in the Eclogues 
of Virgil. Dr. Johnson once read to some friends in 
London a manuscript copy of a pastoral story. They 
were delighted with the narrative, and desired to know 
the author's name. Imagine their surprise when he in- 

1 cxxxix. according to the Hebrew version. 



THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 233 

formed them that it was an ancient document written 
2,500 years before the discovery of America ; in fact, that 
it was no other than the Book of Ruth. Had it been 
composed by an English author of note, selections from it 
would have found a place in our choice classical literature. 

"An essay has been written to prove how much Shake- 
speare has been indebted to the Scriptures. The Red 
Cross Knight in the "Faerie Queene" of Spenser, is the 
Christian in the last chapter of the Epistle to the Ephe- 
sians. Pope's "Messiah" is only a paraphrase of some 
passages in Isaias. The highest strains in Cowper's "Task " 
are an expansion of a chapter of the same Prophet. The 
" Thanalopsis" of Bryant is indebted to a passage in the 
Book of Job." 1 

Bat the Bible should be read for a higher motive than 
for the sake of its style. It should be perused for the 
light and consolation which it imparts. When you open 
the portals of this temple of divine knowledge, you should 
not stop to admire the ornaments and decorations of the 
interior, but you should rather meditate on the words of 
wisdom that are inscribed on its walls, and contemplate 
the hallowed portraits looking down upon you, that you 
may venerate them, and hold them up to the imitation of 
the faithful, 

St. Augustine says, " He who negligently receives the 
word of God is not less guilty than he who, through his 
own fault, would permit the sacred Host to fall on the 
ground." 

The Ark of the Covenant was carried by the Hebrew 
people with great reverence, because it contained the tables 
of the Law, a portion of the Manna, and other emblem? 

*See Men and Books, Phelps. 



234 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of God's mercy. With what awe aud devotion should not 
we handle the Ark of the Bible, containing the Command- 
ments and the spiritual Manna of the Gospel, which has 
nourished millions of souls for centuries. 

Are not the words which Christ spoke nearer to Him, 
and more profitable to us than the Cross on which He 
lay ? and should they not be prized accordingly ? Con- 
stantine the Great and his sons Constantius and Constans, 
wrote a joint letter to St. Antony, recommending them- 
selves to his prayers, and requesting a reply. St. Antony, 
observing the surprise of his monks, said to them without 
emotion : " Do not wonder that the Emperor writes to 
us ; rather be filled with admiration that God himself 
should have written to us, and that He has spoken to us 
by His Son." 

When Francis Xavier was in India, he was in the habit 
of reading the letters of St. Ignatius, not sitting or stand- 
ing, but on bended knees, so great was his reverence for 
his Superior. With what a profound sense should not 
we meditate on the Holy Scriptures, which are letters sent 
to us by our Father in heaven ! 

We have all the more need of this admonition, as our 
official duties bring us daily into contact with the word 
of God when we celebrate Mass, and recite the Breviary, 
as well as when we announce the Sacred Text to the 
faithful on the Lord's day. There is danger that famili- 
arity may blunt our reverence. 

Plutarch informs us that it was the habit of Alexander 
the Great to sleep at night with a copy of Homer and a 
dagger under his pillow. You who are a chosen captain 
of Christ, should certainly have as much attachment for 
the Book of books as Alexander had for the Greek poet. 



THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 235 

If you rest on your pillow, armed with " the sword of 
the Spirit, which is the word of God," * you will find 
in it the best sedative for allaying mental troubles and 
feverish excitement; you will repose in peace and security ; 
for, in the language of the Psalmist, " He shall overshadow 
thee with His shoulders, and under His wings thou shalt 
trust. His truth shall compass thee with a shield. Thou 
shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the 
arrow that flieth in the day." 2 

When St. Charles Borromeo was advised to take some 
recreation in his garden every day, he replied that the 
Scriptures were the garden in which he delighted to 
recreate his soul. You have the same mission that Charles 
had. Visit daily this spiritual garden, cultivate it, par- 
take of its delicious fruit, and pluck its flowers. By 
diligently tilling it, your spirit will be invigorated ; its 
fruits will nourish you ; and the choice flowers that you 
may gather will be a fragrant and healthful bouquet, 
diffusing its sweet odor, and serving as the best disin- 
fectant to counteract the poisonous atmosphere that may 
surround you. 

Like the Prophet Ezechiel, who was commanded by the 
Lord to eat the Book of the Law, 3 you should mentally 
consume and digest the Sacred Volume, until it becomes 
bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh, and is inter- 
twined with every fibre of your heart. 

We should apply to the Scriptures the advice which 
Horace gives about perusing the Greek models : " Exem- 
pfaria Grceca nocturna versate manu, versate diurna" 

Let us become so assiduous in meditating on the word 
of God, that we may be said to live and move in that 

1 Kph. vi. 17. 2 Ps. xc. 4-6. 3 Ezech. in. 1. 



236 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

spiritual world which the sacred writers have portrayed 
for us. 

While you are yet young, when the memory is fresh 
and retentive, you would do well like Origen to learn by 
heart some striking passages of Holy Writ, which you 
can afterward use to advantage. 

"All Scripture, inspired of God," says the Apostle, 
" is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct 
in justice, that the man of God may be perfect, furnished 
to every good work." l You are always sure of your 
ground when you stand on a scriptural rock. You are 
always orthodox, always instructive ; you are never false 
or exaggerated, never tedious or verbose, never frivolous 
or aimless ; you are never preaching yourself, but always 
" Christ, and Him crucified." 

Your sermons will be a torch that warms while it 
enlightens. You will not only captivate the minds, but 
you will also subdue the hearts of your hearers. " The 
people will be in admiration," not of you, but of your 
doctrine, because like your Master you will speak "as 
one having authority," and not as an actor or a rheto- 
rician in the persuasive words of human wisdom. You 
will speak with an apostolic freedom of speech that will 
impart a supernatural force and energy to your eloquence. 
Your speech, like that of the Apostle, will be "not in 
word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Ghost, 
and in much fulness." 2 

Like the children of Israel, who " wept, and fasted, 
and prayed before the Lord," 3 when they heard the words 
of the Law from the lips of Baruch, the prophet, your 
congregation will be filled with compunction of heart 

l II. Tim. tti. 16, 17. »I. Thess. i. 5. 3 Bar. i. 5. 



THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 237 

when they receive from your mouth the words, not of 
man, but of God. 

There is a grace in the Inspired Word, both to the 
speaker and the hearer, and an efficacy such as no human 
production can possess : " for, the word of God is living 
and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged 
sword, and reaching unto the division of the soul and the 
spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a dis- 
cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." l 



1 Heb. iv. 12. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The Study of the Fatheks. — Dogmatic and 

Moral Theology. — Canon Law. — Histoky. 

— Greek and Latin Classics. — 

English Classics. 

IN laying so much stress, in the foregoing chapter, on 
the study of the Sacred Scriptures, and in giving 
that subject the leading place, I am far from underrating 
the vital importance to the ecclesiastical student of other 
departments of knowledge. 

The writings of the Fathers of the Church are an in- 
exhaustible storehouse of spiritual treasures. They are 
the best and the most approved commentators on the 
Holy Scriptures. As jurists and constitutional lawyers 
are not content with mastering the text of the Constitution 
and the organic laws of the country, but study also its 
ablest and most authorized expounders, so will the dili- 
gent disciple of Christ be amply rewarded by the luminous 
expositions of the word of God which are set before him 
in patristic literature. 

The writings of the Fathers will assist the student in 
fathoming the hidden meaning of the Sacred Text, and 
will disclose to him a copious fund of interpretations 
which his own unaided efforts might fail to discover. 
The Fathers are models, not only as writers and com- 
mentators, but also as preachers. Their sermons are 
238 



THE STUDY OF THE FATHERS. 239 

conspicuous for unction and earnestness, as well as for 
brevity. 

Dogmatic Theology is a scientific study of Revelation. 
It is a digest of the grounds of Christian belief. Its 
province is to group together and arrange in methodical 
and logical sequence the various arguments from Scripture 
and tradition, from history and reason, in support of some 
particular doctrine of faith. It points out the relation 
and connection between the different articles of the Creed. 

It sets before the reader in harmonious order the oracles 
of God, uttered at divers times, and scattered over the 
voluminous pages of the Bible. It marshals and coordi- 
nates these numerous sacred texts bearing on a particular 
dogma. It makes one Bible quotation supplement and 
confirm another. Text is added to text, like stone piled 
on stone in a building, each adjusted in its place, each 
strengthening and sustaining the other, till the majestic 
edifice of Christian faith is constructed from the exhaust- 
less quarry of the Scripture. 

Viewed separately, the passages quoted might appear 
less conclusive; but welded together in compact form, 
they have a cumulative weight, and an irresistible force 
of conviction. Take, for instance, the Primacy of Peter 
as an illustration. One might cavil at the proof based 
on a single text; but let all the passages bearing on his 
supreme jurisdiction be adduced from the Gospels, the 
Acts and the Epistles, and no honest inquirer can gainsay 
their convincing power. 

Apart from the knowledge obtained, there is still another 
great advantage derived from the study of Theology. 
One cannot fail to observe the natural order, the rational 
method and sequence which the compiler of Theology 



240 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

pursues in arranging his proofs of a given proposition. 
JTlie student thus acquires almost unconsciously system- 
atic habits of mind for the collocation of his ideas in pre- 
paring a discourse or a treatise, and this logical precision 
of thought becomes a valuable aid to memory. 

But the greatest advantage of a comprehensive The- 
ology is found in the weapons of defence with which it 
supplies the Christian apologist against the adversaries of 
Revelation. The Summa of St. Thomas and the treatises 
of other learned theologians propose and refute more 
subtle and specious objections against religion than are 
met in the pages of the most formidable opponents of 
Christianity. These champions of the faith surveying the 
battle-ground of Christendom, are able to group together 
every form of attack from the beginning of the Christian 
era. They detect old errors constantly reappearing under 
a new guise, and they enable the student to be prepared 
at all points. 

Some time ago, a Unitarian clergyman delivered a 
sermon against the divinity of Christ, which attracted 
much attention, as its arguments were regarded as the 
most plausible and effective that could be presented against 
this fundamental doctrine of Christianity. It was after- 
ward discovered that he had borrowed his weapons of 
assault from the armory of St. Thomas, having presented 
seriatim all the objections found in the Summa, without 
referring to their triumphant refutation by the Angelic 
Doctor. 

Should any one be disposed to attach less importance 
to the study of systematic theology, in view of the asser- 
tion made in the preceding chapter, that the Fathers of 
the Church were the most eloquent of pulpit orators, 



THE STUDY OF THE FATHEKS. 241 

though the Bible was their only book of sacred study, 
I would answer that it is time enough for ^hini ta 
offer this excuse w T hen he has acquired the mental grasp 
and patient industry of the Fathers. As well might a 
farmer of the present century reject the modern steam- 
plough, the sowing and reaping machines, on the ground 
that his forefathers were successful tillers of the soil, 
though they labored with the hand-plough and the sickle. 
While an adequate knowledge of the Scriptures is a pre- 
requisite for the study of dogmatic theology, it does not 
exempt us from the duty of devoting ourselves to this 
indispensable branch of ecclesiastical science. u These 
things ye ought to have done and not to leave the 
other undone." 1 

Next in importance to dogmatic Theology is the study 
of Moral Theology, which instructs the divinity student 
how to estimate the moral character of human actions by 
their conformity or non-conformity to Christian Revela- 
tion, to the positive teachings of the Church, and to the 
natural standard of ethics. 

A Catholic priest is liable to be called upon every day, 
especially in the tribunal of Penance, to give a prompt 
and practical decision for the moral guidance of others. 
He has to decide whether an act is right or wrong, a 
mortal or a venial transgression ; whether it is harmless 
or dangerous ; and if dangerous, whether it is remotely 
or proximately an occasion of sin. He has also to deter- 
mine whether the offence committed demands reparation 
or restitution. In a word, every pastor of souls is a local 
spiritual judge. He is charged with the duty of inter- 
preting the divine Law for those committed to his care, 

1 Luke xi. 42. 

16 



242 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

just as the district judge is appointed to decide questions 
of a civil or criminal nature. 

To be capable of giving a satisfactory solution to ques- 
tions of this kind, a priest must not only be possessed of 
a judicial temper of mind, but he should also be acquainted 
with the complex cases of conscience involved in the Deca- 
logue, as well as with the positive laws of the Church. 
The aim of Moral Theology is to enlighten the student on 
these points, and to support and illustrate its decisions by 
copious examples and rulings of Church authorities, par- 
ticularly by the judgments of the Holy See. 

Canon Law is another prominent branch of ecclesiastical 
science. The Church, like all other human societies, has 
her own laws and discipline for the good government of 
her hierarchy and people ; and this disciplinary legislation 
is comprised under the head of Canon Law. 

It were much to be desired that in every diocese there 
were found a select number of accomplished canonists, and 
it is to be hoped that a fair proportion of our clergy may 
pursue this branch of knowledge in the Catholic University 
of Washington, and in other advanced seats of learning. 

All the clergy engaged in the sacred ministry should 
possess, at least, an elementary knowledge of Canon Law, 
especially in its practical application, and this result can 
be obtained by the study of the Third Plenary Council 
of Baltimore. The decrees of this Council embody the 
legislation of the preceding National and Provincial 
Synods of the United States. 

The peculiar merit of the Baltimore decrees lies in the 
fact, that they are not like "new wine in old bottles/' 
They do not contain a single obsolete law or canon, but 
all are eminently adapted to the times and country in 



THE STUDY OF THE FATHERS. 243 

which we live. They should not only be carefully studied 
in the seminary, but should be afterward reviewed, at 
least once a year. 

It is gratifying to know in what high esteem the Balti- 
more Council is held by leading churchmen in Europe, 
and that even the Holy See has been pleased to recommend 
it as a model to the hierarchy of other countries. 

The study of History, both sacred and profane, is one 
of the most delightful and instructive occupations that can 
engage the attention of the minister of religion. History 
is philosophy teaching by example. As history deals with 
concrete facts, they are easily retained both by the speaker 
and the hearers; and as nearly all great historical inci- 
dents are suggestive of some moral reflections, the whole- 
some lessons which they convey, are stamped without 
effort on the heart' and memory. An interesting event 
of history is like a garment which adorns, while it affords 
warmth ; it clothes the mind with useful knowledge, and 
enriches the heart with salutary reflections. 

The student of history will not fail to trace the super- 
intending action of Divine Providence in the birth, the 
development, and the decline of nations. He will observe 
that empires, as well as men, are amenable to Divine 
Justice, and in following the course of commonwealths 
down the stream of time, he will realize the truth of the 
Scripture axiom : " Justice exalteth a nation ; but sin 
maketh nations miserable." 1 

In the memorable words of Cicero : " History is the 
witness of ages, the torch of truth, the life of memory, 
the oracle of life, the interpreter of the past." 

1 Prov. xrv. 34. 



244 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRTST. 

They who have leisure to cultivate the Greek and Latin 
Classics, will be amply rewarded by the treasures of 
natural wisdom, and charmed by the poetic fancy in which 
they abound. When we peruse them in mature life, our 
ripened experience enables us to appreciate their varied 
excellence far better than when the study of them was 
imposed as a task on our undeveloped mind. 

No truth is profane to the Christian. All truth is 
appropriated and sanctified by religion, for its Author is 
the Source of truth. 

Moses w r as instructed in the wisdom of the Egyptians. 1 
He was thoroughly versed in the sciences cultivated by 
them, such as astronomy, physics, and mathematics, also 
in the literature of the country ; and Daniel excelled ten- 
fold in knowledge, all the diviners and astrologers in the 
whole realm of the Chaldeans. 2 

If Christ never read or quoted any book but the Scrip- 
tures, this fact reminds us that the Incarnate Wisdom 
needed no human instruction ; if Moses and Daniel were 
advanced in the knowledge of the Egyptians and Chal- 
deans, it teaches us that we are not to despise, but to 
cultivate secular learning. 

Cyprian and Ambrose, Basil and Gregory Nazianzen, 
Chrysostom and Leo, Jerome and Augustine, formed their 
style on the great orators and poets of Greece aud Rome. 
No casket in their judgment was too precious to serve as 
a receptacle for the gems of Gospel truth. 

As our Christian temples are not profaned by being 
designed after pagan patterns, neither is Christian elo- 
quence desecrated by following the great models of Greece 
and Rome. Those nations will ever remain the standards 

1 Acts vn. 22. -Dan. i.20. 



THE STUDY OF THE FATHERS. 245 

of literary excellence, as they are to this day the highest 
exemplars of architecture and sculpture. The oratious of 
Cicero and Demosthenes, in point of style and construc- 
tion, will always continue to be the best models for 
Christian oratory. 

Solomon decorated the temple of the Lord with the 
gold of the Gentiles, and Judas Machabeus suspended 
from its walls, the trophies of the conquered infidels. 

The Fathers of the Church declare that, as the Hebrews 
were authorized by Almighty God to despoil the Egyptians 
of their household treasures, so are Christians allowed to 
appropriate to themselves the intellectual wealth of the 
Gentiles, to adorn and illustrate the teachings of the 
Church. To-day the eloquence of ancient Greece and 
Rome is in possession of the Christian world, while 
Paganism and Mohammedanism are in intellectual decay. 

It is no exaggeration to say that a clergyman's influence 
for good is vastly increased by a mastery of the English 
tongue, which can be acquired only by a familiar ac- 
quaintance with the English classics. He might possess 
the theological knowledge of St. Thomas, and yet labor 
under a serious disadvantage, if he cannot express his 
thoughts with precision, ease, and elegance. David en- 
cased in the ponderous armor and girded with the sword 
of Saul, was unwieldy and ineffective,; while with merely 
his sling, he conquered Goliath. 

Our English literature abounds in profound natural 
truths. It is mr/\ked by a masculine force and a sturdy 
common sense that appeal to the reason and judgment 
of mankind. I may add that our standard prose and 
poetical writers, with few exceptions, exhibit commend- 
able reverence for religion and familiarity with the Sacred 



246 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Scriptures, from which they borrow many of their noblest 
thoughts aud images. 

But the most attractive feature of these authors is their 
exquisite style, which delights the fancy aud captivates 
the understanding, by the happy and judicious form of 
words in which their ideas are expressed. The Protestant 
minister, notwithstanding his doctrinal errors, has suc- 
ceeded in gaining the public ear by the charm of his speech, 
while the herald of truth has been too often handicapped, 
because his heavenly message was not conveyed in an in- 
viting dress. The poet, indeed, has well said that 

a Truth needs no color, — beauty no pencil." 

But in order to attract the gaze of the spectator, truth 
must be clothed in a becoming garb. 

It may be objected that the vast majority of our lead- 
ing British and American writers are heterodox in faith. 
But if we can peruse Pagan authors with impunity, 
why not Protestant authors? If we can be proof against 
unbelief, why not against misbelief as well? Newman 
and Manning, Faber and Allies, with scores and hun- 
dreds of other converts, had drunk deep from their youth 
at the fount of English classical literature ; yet we have 
never heard any of them declare that their daily inter- 
course with the masters of English style, was a bar to 
their conversion. 

When President Lincoln was reproached for allowing 
the Southern national air to be played in his presence, he 
replied : " Dixie is ours since we have conquered the Con- 
federacy " So can we say : All truth is ours. Truth, like 
the air of heaven, is the heritage of all. Our province is 



THE STUDY OF THE FATHERS. 247 

to seek the gold of truth, like diligent miners, and sift it 
from the dross of error. We should, like the bee, extract 
the honey of wisdom from the flower, and leave the 
poison behind. The student that is afraid of inhaling the 
poison with the honey, has not the moral vigor to grapple 
with the world. 

I am speaking, of course, not to children, but to men 
who are, or are to be, the leaders of men, to men of tried 
virtue who have a wholesome dread of heresy, and whose 
sole object in the pursuit of knowledge, is to enrich the 
mind with the ornaments of heavenly wisdom. 

If the great bulk of English authors are hostile or un- 
friendly to the Catholic religion, does not the same remark 
apply to many of the leading writers in Catholic nations? 
Whatever may be said of the doctrinal errors of the liter- 
ary celebrities of England and America, their moral tone 
is usually healthier than that of the average French and 
Italian writers of note. Addison, Johnson and Gibbon, 
Milton and Wordsworth, Tennyson and Longfellow are 
remarkably free from the taint of licentiousness. 

While the English classical writers have been, for the 
most part, aliens to the Catholic faith, we can claim as 
our own, at least two of the most eminent poets of the 
post-Reformation period, — I refer to Dryden and Pope. 
Shakespeare, also, has been sometimes classed among 
the adherents of the ancient Church ; and certainly few 
dramatists have portrayed Catholic thought more hap- 
pily, or described Catholic Ritual more correctly than 
he has done. 

We have reason to rejoice that the present century has 
produced several British and American authors of literary 
ability, sound in doctrine and unexceptionable in morals. 



248 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Cardinals Wiseman, Newman, and Manning, Doctors 
Lingard and Brownson (not to speak of living writers), 
have enriched our noble tongue by their erudition, and 
illumined it by their faith. They have presented their 
ideas in vigorous and idiomatic language, and clothed 
them in a graceful and attractive style. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
The Study of Men and the Times. 

AFTER the Bible, the study of mankind is the most 
important and instructive pursuit for the ambas- 
sador of Christ. The aim of his ministry is to enlighten 
and convince, to persuade and convert his fellow being, 
and to elevate him to a higher plane of moral rectitude. 

The first step toward the accomplishment of this noble 
aim is to obtain a thorough knowledge of man, his springs 
of action, his yearnings and desires, his passions and emo- 
tions, his vices and temptations, and the arguments and 
motives, as well as the means that are best calculated to 
promote his spiritual progress. 

Now, the knowledge of the mysterious kingdom of the 
heart is more accurately acquired by going to the original 
than by seeing it described in the pages of a book. An 
artist makes a better portrait from a living subject than 
from his photograph. We view objects in the abstract 
in books, but in the concrete in living men. 

"No book," says Cardinal Newman, "can convey the 
special spirit and delicate peculiarities of its subject, with 
that rapidity and certainty which attend on the sym- 
pathy of mind with mind, through the eyes, the look, 
the accent and the manners, in casual expressions thrown 
off at the moment, and the unstudied turns of familiar 
conversation. . . . The general principles of any study, 

249 



250 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

you may learn by books at home; but the detail, the 
color, the tone, the air, the life which makes it live in us, 
— you must catch all these from those in whom it lives 
already " l 

Books describe human beings as existing in times and 
countries, or under circumstances different from our own ; 
but in studying the race that surrounds us, we contem- 
plate man just as he is to-day. 

We see him, not as reflected through the mind of another, 
but as viewed by ourselves. Human nature, it is true, is 
everywhere radically the same, but it receives a coloring 
and an impression from its environments. Man is influ- 
enced and modified in temperament and habits of thought 
by the social and domestic circle in which he moves, and 
by the political institutions under which he lives. By a 
knowledge of his own times and people, the speaker can 
accommodate his remarks to the special needs of his hearers. 

An exhortation that would be admirably suited to a 
French or Spanish congregation, might not be adapted to 
an American audience. A discourse against the evils of 
divorce, which is so vital a subject with us, would scarcely 
find any application in Ireland or in the Tyrol, where 
divorces are almost unknown. A sermon that would be 
most appropriate to a fourth or fifth century congregation, 
might be out of place in our time and country, as the 
prevailing errors and vices of those times are not the 
predominant errors and vices of to-day. St. John Chry- 
sostom's arraignment of the voluptuous Court of Con- 
stantinople in the beginning of the fifth century, would 
be a libel if applied to-day to the White House at Wash- 
ington. His denunciations of the theatre in that city, 

1 Historical Sketches. 



THE STUDY OF MEN AND THE TIMES. 251 

could not be justly repeated from an American pulpit 
without some important reservations. 

They who have a long experience in the ministry, cannot 
fail to observe the faults into which young clergymen are 
sometimes liable to fall, whose knowledge is chiefly con- 
fined to books, and who have had as yet little opportunity 
to commune with their fellow- men. They are apt to attach 
undue weight to matters of minor importance, and to treat 
lightly, subjects of grave moment. Or they may be strained, 
fanciful and unreal, and talk over the heads of the people. 
They may denounce in unmeasured or exaggerated terms, 
a social plague scarcely known by the congregation. 

I once listened to a visiting clergyman condemning, in 
vehement language, low-necked dresses where their use 
was utterly unknown, and where the censure had as little 
application as it would have had among the inhabitants 
of the arctic regions. I heard of a young minister of the 
Gospel who delivered a homily on the ravages of in- 
temperance before an audience composed exclusively of 
pious, unmarried ladies who hardly knew the taste of 
wine, and still less that of stronger drink. I heard of 
another who preached on the duties of married life before 
a community of nuns and aged inmates. 

Some of our separated clerical brethren are not unfre- 
quentiy betrayed into similar errors in ascribing to their 
Catholic fellow-citizens, religious doctrines and practices 
which they repudiate. A caricature instead of a true 
picture is held up to the public gaze, because the informa- 
tion is drawn from books, or hearsay, or tradition, and 
not from contact with living men. 

Another advantage which we derive from a discreet 
study of men, is the habit of moderation in our judgment 



252 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of them. We will find that few men are altogether per- 
fect, and few, also, totally depraved. Blemishes will be 
discovered in the most exemplary character, and traits of 
genuine goodness in the most abandoned and perverse. 
This two-fold experience will teach us to use sobriety of 
speech in praising virtuous men and women, including 
even canonized saints, and to avoid excessive harshness in 
reproving sinners ; for if we paint righteous men without 
a single fault or imperfection, we tempt the objects of our 
eulogy to vanity, should they be within our reach, and we 
discourage those who are earnestly aspiring to virtue. If 
we describe the vicious as absolutely bad, we drive them 
to despair. 

This subject is forcibly illustrated by the different 
methods pursued in writing the lives of men conspicuous 
for Christian or civic virtues. Some authors portrayed 
the saint, leaving out the man. They gave us the light 
without the shadow. There was no background to their 
picture. They exhibited an ideal character entirely free 
from human foibles. Many readers regard these biogra- 
phies as one-sided and unreal, and take no pleasure in 
studying them. Others, accepting them as true, derive 
little consolation or encouragement from their perusal, as 
the model is beyon^ their reach. 

Leo XIII. once remarked to Cardinal Manning: "It 
has been too much the fashion in writing history, to omit 
what is unpleasant. If the historians of the last century 
had written the Gospels, for example, we might never have 
heard of the fall of Peter, or of the treachery of Judas." 1 

The same Pontiff in his letter on Historical Studies 
teaches that " the first law of history is never to dare to 

1 London TaLLt, July Gth, 1895, 



THE STUDY OF MEN AND THE TIMES. 253 

speak falsely ; its second, never to fear to declare the 
truth." 

Of late years, I am happy to say, we are treated to 
memoirs that aim at being true to life, that represent to 
us men of flesh and blood, as well as of spirit ; — men of 
strong faith, virility of soul, genuine charity, magnanimity 
of character, and self-denial, but not exempt from some 
of the imperfections incident to humanity. The merit 
of these biographies is, that the author has either studied 
his subjects from life, or he represents them to us in their 
true light as portrayed in their own actions and writings. 
The public man, whether churchman or layman, who has 
never committed an error of judgment, or who was never 
betrayed into any moral delinquency, will hardly ever be 
credited with any great words or deeds worthy of being 
transmitted to posterity. 

The best models of biography are the inspired penmen. 
They give us a faithful and accurate portrait of their most 
sacred subjects, without any effort to hide their moral de- 
formities or defects. David's sin ; Peter's denial, Paul's 
persecution of the early Church, the worldly ambition 
of the sons of Zebedee, the incredulity of Thomas, are 
fearlessly recorded without any attempt at extenuation or 
palliation. The delinquencies of those men arouse our 
compassion without diminishing our reverence for them, 
and serve by contrast to lend additional lustre to the halo 
of their subsequent lives. 

St. Cyril uttered severe language against St. John 
Chrysostom, and yet both are honored on our altars. 
Who thinks less of Augustine and Jerome, because he sees 
them engaged in earnest theological controversy which 
almost snapped asunder the bonds of charity? Who finds 



254 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

his veneration and love for Basil and Gregory cooled, 
because of the melancholy estrangement which followed 
a long and tender friendship? What names are more 
venerated in France than those of Bossuet and Fenelon, 
although they were long involved in a heated controversy? 
Whoever would omit these episodes on the plea of edifi- 
cation, would mutilate their glorious lives. He would 
remove the shading which presented the picture in a 
bolder light. "Hath God any need of your lie," says 
the prophet, "that you should speak deceitfully for 
Him?" 1 Neither have God's saints any need of having 
their faults suppressed. They are not whited sepulchres, 
and they fear not the light. 

The alienation between Burke and Fox at the close of 
their career, though much to be deplored, does not diminish 
our admiration for these two statesmen. It brings out in 
stronger relief, the inflexible character of Burke, who 
sacrificed friendship on the altar of truth. It shows us 
that upright men may sometimes differ in conclusions, 
without violating conscience, or incurring the unfavorable 
judgment of po c terity. 

Modern biographers, while dwelling with pride on the 
civic and military virtues of Washington, avoid the lan- 
guage of hyperbole in which some of his contemporary 
eulogists indulged toward the Father of his Country. 
They seemed to be so dazzled by the lustre of that great 
luminarv before he descended below the horizon, that 
they could detect no shadow in the object of their adula- 
tion. 

Webster, too, shortly after his death, was lauded with 
extravagant encomiums as a man above reproach. The 

1 Job xm. 7. 



THE STUDY OF MEN AND THE TIMES. 255 

dispassionate testimony of Mr. Bryce, 1 who says that his 
splendid intellect was mated to a character open to cen- 
sure, will be acquiesced in by the judgment of impartial 
readers. Yet the American people admire and cherish 
none the less those two illustrious personages, notwith- 
standing the more discriminating verdict and less fulsome 
praise of modern critics. The spots discovered in these 
effulgent suns, serve only to disclose in clearer view the 
splendor of their achievements. " Paint me as I am, 
warts and all," said Cromwell to Cooper, the artist. 

The first living book that a student should read is his 
own heart, which is a little world in itself, and a miniature 
of the great heart of humanity. " Know thyself," is a 
primary maxim of Christian, as well as of pagan, philoso- 
phy. Massillon was once asked how he could delineate 
so faithfully the emotions and rebellions of the human 
heart, and especially the intrigues, the ambitions, and the 
jealousies of the Court, which he so rarely frequented. 
He replied that he drew his knowledge from the study 
of his own heart. 

The searcher after knowledge will also find an open 
and instructive book, full of object lessons, in the mass of 
human beings that he may encounter in the daily walks 
of life. He can pick up useful bits of information from 
his companions during his college course, and afterward 
from the persons he will meet on the streets, on the farm, 
in the workshop, the counting-room, the social circle, on 
steamboats and railroad cars. 

Sir Walter Scott says that a man of active mind cannot 
talk to the boy who holds his horse, without obtaining 
some new thought. 

1 The American Commonwealth, Vol. n. 



256 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

But it is especially while making his daily rounds 
through the parish, that the clergyman acquires profitable 
instruction and subject-matter for his sermons. He learns 
then the intellectual and moral standard of the people 
confided to his care. He is made acquainted with their 
virtues and vices, and with the sources of their tempta- 
tions. He observes their patience and fortitude in poverty 
and sickness, and their Christian resignation in the presence 
of death. He will often contemplate in the cottages of 
the lowly domestic peace and content, which compensate 
them for their temporal privations, and which are too 
often wanting in the homes of the rich. I have found 
striking evidences of genuine piety and gratitude even 
among the inmates of our penitentiary. 

All this personal experience will enable the minister of 
God to speak in a maimer intelligible and attractive to 
his audience, and to embellish his discourse by allusions 
to the incidents of daily life like our Lord, who habitually 
instructed in parables and drew His illustrations from the 
surrounding landscape, and from the habits and occupa- 
tions of the people. 

This intercourse w 7 ith living men not only enlightens 
the mind, but also quickens the sympathies and fires the 
heart of the speaker in the pulpit tar more powerfully 
than abstract learning; for what is seen, affects us more 
sensibly than what is read, and the earnestness of our 
words is proportioned to the strength of our impressions. 

The more the man of God studies the inner life of the 
people, their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, the 
more persuasive and moving will be his exhortations. 
He will come down to the level of his flock, he will be in 
touch with them, and they will recognize that his heart 



THE STUDY OF MEN AND THE TIMES. 257 

is in his work. He will retain his hold on the masses 
without neglecting the classes. But if the preacher has 
not the sympathy that is born of a knowledge of the 
people ; if he cannot say with his Master : " I know 
Mine, and Mine know Me," he may enlighten without 
warming them ; and his words, like oil poured on water, 
will not mingle with their hearts' blood. 

These remarks apply to statesmen and lawyers, as well 
as to ministers of the Gospel. O'Connell's influence over 
the people of Ireland w r as such as no man in his genera- 
tion ever exerted on any other nation. Playing on every 
chord of their heart, he could sway the multitude, and 
move them to tears or laughter. The secret of his empire 
over his countrymen was that he had sprung from the 
peasantry, had lived among them, knew their grievances 
and aspirations, and sympathized with them in their 
wrongs and sufferings. 

Gladstone would never have attained his acknowledged 
eminence as a public speaker, without his vast experience 
in the House of Commons. It was in that great univer- 
sity of politics, that he learned the art of a consummate 
debater. 

Daniel Webster was not more indebted to his book- 
learning for his success at the bar, than to his keen 
discernment of human character, and to his power to 
conciliate and control it. The following anecdote of 
him was related in my presence at a dinner in Wash- 
ington. 

He and Rufus Choate were once pitted against each 

other as opposing counsel in a lawsuit concerning an 

alleged infringement of a patent right on locomotive 

wheels. The wheels were before the jury. Rufus Choate 

17 



258 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

as counsel for the defendant, expended his legal acumen 
in a learned and labored mathematical essay, going to 
prove that there was an essential difference between the 
wheels and, therefore, no infringement on the patent right. 
Then Webster, who had gauged the character of the 
jurors, spoke for the plaintiff. " Gentlemen of the Jury/ 1 
said he, "you have heard an elaborate scientific disquisi- 
tion upon those wheels. I have nothing of the kind to 
give you. There are the wheels. Look at them." The 
jury looked at them, and gave him the verdict. A judge, 
who attended the dinner, confirmed the truth of the anec- 
dote, remarking that he happened to be engaged in that 
sulfas junior counsel. The difference between these two 
great lawyers was this : Choate bewildered the jury by 
the intricacies of a vocabulary above their comprehension ; 
while Webster measured the intelligence of the jury, and 
gained his case by appealing to their common sense. 

Napoleon, though* a poor shot, was the greatest general 
of his age. He said with truth of himself: "I know 
man." He owed his success to his insight into human 
character, which enabled him to make a judicious selection 
of his military officers and State officials. 

I have heard of distinguished lawyers, when they had 
an important case in hand, studying the habits, disposi- 
tions, and mental calibre of every member of the jury, 
and addressing to each one in succession a few pertinent 
remarks, calculated to convince his judgment, conciliate 
his good will, and gain his confidence. 

Clergymen at the time of their ordination are, I think, 
as a rule, more thoroughly grounded in sacred science than 
graduating lawyers are in the abstract knowledge of their 
profession, because the curriculum of the former covers a 



THE STUDY OF MEN AND THE TIMES. 259 

longer period of time than that of the latter. But what 
a jurist may lack in book-lore, is compensated by his 
greater readiness of speech and felicity of expression. 
His faculties are sharpened by the contact of mind with 
mind in the courts, and by his habitual intercourse with 
the members of the bar, the jury, and the spectators. 
The earnest pleadings of his distinguished and experienced 
seniors, are the strongest incentives to his intellectual ac- 
tivity and honorable emulation. 

The soldier of Christ, on the other hand, on emerging 
from the seminary, is sometimes unwieldy. He is op- 
pressed by the weight of his theological armor, till he has 
acquired practice in the arena of Christian warfare. Thin 
disadvantage on the part of clerical students, would be 
overcome, at least partially, by the more general establish- 
ment and cultivation of debating societies for the senior 
classes in our colleges and seminaries, where they would 
learn to acquire ease and fluency of expression, and to 
wield with dexterity the sword of the word of God. 

They should, besides, profit by every opportunity to 
hear and observe practised speakers; for as a person may 
read the most elaborate manual on politeness and etiquette, 
and yet be awkward and embarrassed in company if he 
docs not occasionally appear in refined society; so the 
student may peruse the most approved treatises on elocu- 
tion without much profit, unless he is brought face to face 
with recognized orators, and feels the subtle and inspiring 
influence of the living voice. 

The learned men of ancient Greece and Rome did not 
consider their education complete till they had travelled 
abroad, and acquainted themselves with the habits and 
manners of other people and climes ; and I am informed 



260 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

that, in our own day, a few of the leading universities of 
England and America have already a limited number of 
travelling scholarships. 

Herodotus, the Father of Grecian History, derived 
most of the information embodied in his work from 
extensive travel and converse with men. 

Plato, after being eight years a disciple of Socrates, 
spent twelve years in the pursuit of knowledge in foreign 
parts, before he returned to his native Athens. 

Edmund Burke says of Homer and Shakespeare that 
" their practical superiority over all other men, arose from 
their practical knowledge of other men/* — a knowledge 
which Homer acquired by frequent journeys abroad, and 
Shakespeare by studying mankind at home. 

Cicero improved his sojourn in Greece and Asia, by 
studying oratory under the best masters that then flour- 
ished in those countries. 

St. Jerome, the most eminent Hebrew scholar of his 
age, visited various cities of Gaul and Greece, Antioch 
and other places in Asia Minor, Palestine, Constantinople, 
Rome, also Alexandria and other centres of learning in 
Egypt, where he consulted the men most conspicuous in 
those times for erudition and piety. When his own fame 
for learning was spread abroad, scholars flocked to him, 
as to an oracle, from all parts of the civilized world. 

Sir Walter Scott's charming novels are remarkable for 
their accuracy in the portraiture of the Scotch character 
and of the scenes that he describes. He obtained his in- 
formation by traversing Scotland, living and conversing 
with the people, treasuring up their bits of local traditions, 
and afterward interweaving them with his historical ro- 
mances. " I have read books enough," he says, " and 



THE STUDY OF MEN AND THE TIMES. 261 

conversed with splendidly educated men in my time; but, 
I assure you, I have heard higher sentiments from the 
lips of poor, uneducated men and women than I have 
ever met with out of the pages of the Bible." 

It is well known, that while Milton is read by the few, 
Dickens is read by the million. He made personal visits 
to the prisons, the insane asylums, reformatories, and 
boarding-schools of England. He frequented the haunts 
of poverty, suffering, and wretchedness in London. His 
sense of indignation is aroused against official insolence, 
cruelty, and injustice ; and his warmest sympathy is 
quickened in behalf of the victims of legalized oppression 
and tyranny. He draws his scenes from actual life ; he 
deals with the men and women of his own time, and he 
gains the popular heart. 

I was never more impressed with the impulse given to 
knowledge by contact with learned men, than during the 
Vatican Council, when prelates of world-wide experience 
and close observation were assembled in Rome. Each 
bishop brought with him an intimate acquaintance with 
the history of his country, and with the religious, social, 
and political condition of the people among whom he 
lived. One could learn more from a few hours' interview 
with those living encyclopaedias, than from a week's study 
of books. An earnest conversation with those keen- 
sighted churchmen, on the social and moral progress of 
their respective countries, was as much more delightful 
and instructive than the reading in print, as a personal 
inspection of an International Exposition would be in 
comparison with a description of it in the pages of an 
illustrated periodical. The living words left an indelible 
impress on the heart and memory. 



262 ■ THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that the student who as- 
pires to improve his knowledge by travel, should already 
possess maturity of years and of judgment, and should 
have laid the foundation of the science which he desires 
to cultivate and develop. 

Above all, he must be a man who has acquired the 
habit of close observation. Take, for instance, two com- 
panions returning from a journey made together. The 
mind of the one is stored with useful facts gleaned on 
the way, while the other has scarcely a single practical 
incident to relate. 

It may be objected to literary tourists, that the knowl- 
edge which they gather, is sometimes purchased at the ex- 
pense of piety ; for Kempis says, "They who travel much 
abroad are rarely sanctified." This axiom is true, indeed, 
of those that make excursions solely for pleasure's sake, 
but not of the diligent pilgrim who starts on his journey 
bent on plucking the fruits of wisdom on the roadside. 
David gave proofs of self-denial during his warlike ex- 
peditions, 1 and he sinned in his own home. Jerome's 
pilgrimages were blessed with an increase of sanctity and 
knowledge. 

As the minister of Christ is preeminently the friend 
and father of the people, he cannot be indifferent to any 
of the social, political, and economic questions affecting 
the interests and happiness of the nation. The relations 
of Church and State, the duties and prerogatives of the 
citizen, the evils of political corruption and usurpation, 
the purification of the ballot-box, the relative privileges 
and obligations of labor and capital, the ethics of trade 
and commerce, the public desecration of the Lord's-Day, 

1 II. Kings, or Samuel xxm. 



THE STUDY OF MEN AND THE TIMES. 263 

popular amusements, temperance, the problem of the 
colored and Indian races, female suffrage, divorce, social- 
ism, and anarchy, — these and kindred subjects are vital, 
and often burning questions on which hinge the peace 
and security of the Commonwealth. 

Politics has a moral, as well as a civil, aspect; the 
clergyman is a social, as well as a religious, reformer; a 
patriot as well as a preacher, and he knows that the 
permanence of our civic institutions rests on the intelli- 
gence and the virtue of the people. He has at heart the 
temporal, as well as the spiritual, prosperity of those 
committed to his care. They naturally look up to him 
as a guide and teacher. His education, experience, and 
sacred character give weight to his words and example. 

There is scarcely a social or economic movement of 
reform on foot, no matter how extravagant or Utopian, 
that has not some element of justice to recommend it to 
popular favor. If the scheme is abandoned to the control 
of fanatics, demagogues, or extremists, it will deceive the 
masses, and involve them in greater misery. Such living 
topics need discriminating judges to separate the wheat 
from the chaff. 

And who is more fitted to handle these questions than 
God's ambassador, whose conservative spirit frowns upon 
all intemperate innovation, and whose Christian sympa- 
thies prompt him to advocate for his suffering brethren 
every just measure for the redress of grievances, and the 
mitigation of needless misery? 

The timely interposition of the minister of peace might 
have helped to check many a disastrous popular inunda- 
tion, by watching its course, and diverting it into a safe 
channel, before it overspread the country. 



264 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Nor can it be affirmed that the temperate and seasonable 
discussion of these problems, or at least of those phases 
of them that present a moral or religious aspect, involves 
any departure from evangelical and apostolic precedent. 
There is hardly a subject of public interest that has not 
been discussed, or alluded to by Christ or His Apostles. 
I may cite a few examples. 

Our Saviour speaks of the relations of Church and 
State in His memorable declaration : " Render, therefore, 
to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God, the 
things that are God's." x 

When the ancients asked our Lord to confer a favor 
on the Centurion, they appealed to His patriotism, as well 
as to His zeal for religion. "He," they said, "is worthy 
that thou shouldst do this for him. For, he foveth our 
nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." 2 

John the Baptist gave this excellent advice to certain 
officers of the law who had consulted him : " Do violence 
to no man, neither calumniate any man, and be content 
with your pay," 3 — a counsel that all public officials would 
do well to take to heart, 

St. Paul eloquently treats of the duties and privileges 
of citizens : " Let every soul," he says, " be subject to 
higher powers; for there is no power but from God. . . . 
Render, therefore, to all men their dues ; tribute, to whom 
tribute is due ; custom, to whom custom ; fear, to whom 
fear; honor, to whom honor." 4 

When the commander ordered him to be scourged, 
Paul protested against the outrage, and asserted his dig- 
nity as a Roman citizen, saying : " Is it lawful for you 

1 Matt. xxn. 21. 2 Luke vu.4, 5. 3 Luke in. 14. 4 Rom. xm. 1, 7. 



THE STUDY OF MEN AND THE TIMES. 265 

to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned ? " l 
The same Apostle treats with admirable tact and apostolic 
charity, the delicate race question, both from a religious 
and social standpoint. 2 

St. James devotes a portion of his Epistle to Labor 
and Capital. He denounces the injustice and oppression 
of the employer in language which, if uttered in our time 
from a Christian pulpit, might be censured as a direct 
assault on the rich, and an incentive to sedition. 3 

The reigning Pontiff, Leo XIII., in his usual masterly 
manner and luminous style, has, in a series of Encyclicals, 
enlarged on the great social and economical questions of 
the day. 

In his Encyclical of January, 1895, addressed to the 
Hierarchy of the United States, His Holiness says .• "As 
regards civil affairs, experience has shown how important 
it is that the citizens should be upright and virtuous. In 
a free State, unless justice be generally cultivated, unless 
the people be repeatedly and diligently urged to observe 
the precepts and laws of the Gospel, liberty itself may be 
pernicious. Let those of the clergy, therefore, who are 
occupied with the instruction of the people, treat plainly 
this topic of the duties of citizens, so that all may understand 
and, feel the necessity in political life of conscientiousness, 
self-restraint, and integrity ; for that cannot be lawful in 
public, which is unlawful in private affairs."* 

Of course, the kingdom of God and the salvation of 
souls are the habitual theme of the minister of religion, 
the burden of his life-long solicitude ; and the subjects to 
which I referred, are, in the nature of things, exceptional 

1 Acts xxn. 25. 3 James v. 1-5. 

8 Gal. in. 28. and Philemon 15, 1G. 4 Longinqua Oceani Spatia. 



266 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

and incidental. They should be handled, moreover, with 
great prudence and discretion, with a mind free from 
prejudice and partisan spirit, and in the sole interests of 
Christian charity, social order, and public tranquillity. 

Words inspired by motives so lofty, will strengthen 
the hands of the civil authorities; they will be "like 
apples of gold on beds of silver ; " l they will be the oil 
of religion poured on the troubled waters of popular 
commotion ; and the apostle of Christ, raising his voice 
in season, will merit the benediction of Heaven and the 
approval of all good men. " In the time of wrath/' he 
will bo a minister of peace and " reconciliation/' 2 



1 Prov. xxv. 11. 2 Ecclus. xliv. 17. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Pkiest, the Herald of the Gospel. 

MUCH has been written to prove that the ascen- 
dency which oratory formerly wielded over 
popular assemblies, has not only declined since the 
days of Demosthenes, but that its power has been prac- 
tically superseded by the press, which enables millions 
calmly to read what only a few could hear from the living 
voice some hours before. 

While it must, indeed, be admitted that the influence 
of public speaking has been weakened, it has by no means 
been supplanted by the newspaper. The personal mag- 
netism of the orator is still felt whenever he has a subject 
of vital interest to discuss, especially in a nation like 
ours, in which popular government prevails, and political 
debates are so eagerly listened to. 

What more striking evidence can we have of the per- 
suasive and overwhelming force of eloquence than that 
furnished by Mr. Bryan's speech at the National Demo- 
cratic Convention, held in Chicago, July, 1896? 

The burning words of the orator spread over the 
surging mass before him with the force and rapidity 
of a prairie fire in his own Western country. The effect 
was electrical. The audience of fifteen thousand persons 
was swayed by the irresistible power of his eloquence, as 
the trees of the forest bend before the storm. The young 

267 ' 



268 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

speaker, comparatively unknown to fame, became the idol 
of the hour. All competitors fell before him, and be was 
enthusiastically nominated for the Presidency. 

Eloquence is, therefore, not a lost art. But whatever 
inroads the secular press may have made on political and 
forensic oratory, the newspaper can never be a substitute 
for sacred eloquence. 

It is a divine ordinance, that the Gospel is to be propa- 
gated by oral teaching ; and that ordinance has never been, 
and it never will be rescinded. While the press will 
always be a powerful auxiliary for the publication of 
political speeches, it cannot be expected to render the 
same measure of aid in the dissemination of pulpit dis- 
courses. It is our duty, indeed, whenever we can, to 
avail ourselves of the press as a vehicle of Gospel truth; 
but as the daily journal naturally deals with current 
topics, and not with facts of revelation, the publication 
of political speeches will be the rule, and that of sermons, 
the exception. Scarcely one Sunday discourse, out of five 
hundred delivered, is ever reproduced in the morning 
paper. 

Hence, there is no reason or excuse that pulpit oratory 
should decline, or be less assiduously cultivated to-day 
than in any preceding age of Christianity, since it has 
as wide a scope and as sublime a mission now as it 
ever had. 

The priest is the consecrated herald of the Gospel. 
How exalted is his message to the people ! how general 
its applicability ! how awe-inspiring his authority! how 
profound the reverence paid to him ! how far-reaching 
and indispensable his influence ! how tremendous his 
responsibility and the interests at stake ! 



THE PRIEST, THE HERALD OF THE GOSPEL. 269 

How glorious is the message that the minister of Heaven 
has to communicate ! The preacher is charged with the 
most vital and momentous themes that man has ever been 
commissioned to announce to his fellow-being. He does 
not discuss from the pulpit subjects of a political or 
transitory nature, unless some moral issue be involved 
in them. The same Decalogue that Moses gave to the 
Hebrew people on Mount Sinai ; the same solemn warnings 
that the prophets uttered on the hills and plains of Judea ; 
the same Gospel that Christ preached on the Mount and 
along the coasts of Galilee; the same evangelical precepts 
that the Apostles proclaimed throughout the Roman 
Empire, — this is the message that the shepherd of the 
Lord has to declare to his congregation. 

He speaks of God and His attributes. He speaks 
of a God infinitely holy, powerful, just, and merciful, 
of a God whose superintending providence watches over 
the affairs of nations, as well as of men. He speaks 
of man with his intellectual and moral endowments, 
of his relations to God and to his fellow-being, of 
his dignity and responsibility, of his origin and des- 
tiny, and of the means of attaining it. He speaks of 
death and its consequences, of a judgment to come, of 
the retribution of the wicked, and of the recompense 
of the righteous. 

He discourses on these eternal truths, which have en- 
gaged the profound attention of sages and philosophers 
of every age and country and religious belief. These 
truths, however, were problems which philosophers and 
sages could not solve. They were "ever learning and 
never attaining to the knowledge of the truth." l 

"II. Tim. in. 7. 



270 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

But while the message of the Catholic preacher primarily 
deals with God and the spiritual and eternal interests of 
man, it contributes more than any other influence to the 
happiness and welfare of society. The Gospel is not oil 
flowing on the surface of life's turbid waters without com- 
mingling with them, but a leaven penetrating, fermenting, 
and purifying the social mass. The code of doctrine 
which the priest has to expound, is a vindication of social 
order, and a protest against anarchy and disorder. It 
upholds the legitimate authority of the civil magistrate 
and enjoins on him, the duty of even-handed justice. 
It inculcates on the citizen the obligation of obedience to 
the civil, as well as to the divine, law. It promotes the 
cause of good government and public tranquillity, of do- 
mestic peace and fellowship, of charity and benevolence, 
and of social and family purity. It sets its face against 
sedition and disloyalty, strife and bloodshed, against ava- 
rice, lust, and heartless cruelty; against iniquity in high 
and low places, and against every turbulent element that 
would paralyze or disturb the tranquillity of the Common- 
wealth. In a word, the Gospel that he preaches, is the 
embodiment of the reign of law, the strongest bond that 
keeps together the diversified members of the national 
family, and the most potent factor in the development of 
the highest and purest type of our Christian civilization. 

Another distinguishing feature of the Gospel, is its 
universal applicability. There is a marked difference 
between the political speech of a statesman and the ser- 
mon of a priest. The politician submits opinions that 
are often qualified by a variety of circumstances. They 
are, consequently, more or less convincing according to 
the party bias of his hearers, and they are received by 



THE PKIKST, THE HERALD OF THE GOSPEL. 271 

many with some reserve. The speech of Mr. Bryan, 
which was hailed in Chicago with shouts of applause 
and adhesion, was derided in New York and London 
as a tissue of specious and dangerous sophisms. Even 
the fundamental principles of our- republican form of 
government, which are so warmly and so justly cherished 
by all our citizens, without distinction of party lines, and 
which are regarded by us as self-evident political axioms, 
would neither find favor nor be admitted among several 
of the European nations. The genius of the British 
Constitution would be ill-suited to the people of the 
Chinese Empire. 

But the Gospel which the priest announces is not 
weakened or affected by any circumstances of time or 
place or person. It is independent of State lines, of 
national boundaries, and of the forms of political govern- 
ment. It has the same force of truth in Tokio and in 
Pekin that it exerts in New York or Paris; it is never 
obsolete nor antiquated : it appeals as strongly to the 
present, as it did to the first century of Christianity, 
because the doctrines of religion which it embodies, are 
founded on the eternal and unchangeable Law of God. 
The pastor delivers a revelation which his hearers have 
the liberty, indeed, to reject, but not the right to gainsay 
or to controvert. 

The message of the pastor is marked, also, by the stamp 
of unerring authority. The trumpet of the priest, unlike 
the voice of the Pagan philosophers, gives no uncertain 
sound. He can exclaim with all the confidence of the 
prophets : " Thus saith the Lord." Like his Master, "he 
speaks as one having authority, and not as the scribes 
and Pharisees ; " for he is clothed with the panoply of 



272 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Christ, and is furnished with credentials as authentic as 
those communicated to the Apostles themselves. "As 
the Father hath sent Me, I also send you ; " l " He that 
heareth you, heareth Me," 2 says Christ to His ministers. 
With St. Paul, the priest can affirm that his speech "is 
not yea and nay;" but that "Jesus Christ yesterday, 
and to-day, and the same forever," 3 is the steadfast and 
unvarying burden of his message to the people. 

When the priest ascends the altar or the pulpit to 
preach, he is looked upon not as an ordinary man, but as 
the oracle of Christ. He can address his congregation in 
the language of the Apostle : " When ye had received of 
us the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as 
the word of men, but (as it is, indeed,) the word of God." 4 
He is, therefore, listened to with a respectful attention and 
reverence rarely paid to a public speaker. How much 
more favored in this respect is the ambassador of God 
than our representatives in Congress ! When a statesman 
rises to speak in our halls of national legislation, he is 
usually exposed to repeated contradictions and interrup- 
tions, and bewildered by noise and distractions : — pages 
are running to and fro on the floor of the House; groups 
of members are chatting together; others are reading, 
writing, or nodding in their seats; and sometimes he is 
speaking to almost empty benches. 

I was once in company with a number of Senators, in 
Washington. Senator Bayard, afterward our Ambassador 
to London, happened to be one of the guests. I ex- 
pressed to him my surprise and admiration that some of 
his colleagues could exhibit so much physical and mental 
endurance as to prolong their discourse for several con- 

1 John xx. 21. 2 Luke x. 1G. s ITeb. xin. 8. 4 J.Thess. II. 13. 



THE PJtIEST, THE HERALD OP THE GOSPEL. 273 

secutive hours, and even days, oil the same subject. Then 
Mr. Bayard made rue this reply : " Ministers of religion 
like yourself have a great advantage over us. You can 
talk as long as you please, you can say what you please, 
you can upbraid if you please, and you are heard with 
silent respect without fear of contradiction, while we are 
liable to be interrupted by frequent rejoinders and inter- 
pellations." I playfully retorted that we have a clear 
field because we are always expected to tell the truth, the 
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 

The remark of Mr. Bayard made on me at the time a 
deep impression, and suggested the following reflection, 
which I did not then express : 

Since the members of the congregation have so much 
reverence for their pastor that they will not presume to 
admonish him of his faults in the pulpit, and since even 
his brothers in the priesthood will not assume the un- 
grateful task of reproving him, should not his own con- 
science and sense of duty be a stern monitor to him? for, 
" the just is first accuser of himself." 1 Is it not a crime 
against religion for an ambassador of Christ to abuse 
this exemption from public criticism w T hich he enjoys? 
Imagine a clergyman strutting into the pulpit and, in 
the sacred precincts of the temple, before a hushed con- 
gregation, delivering himself in a tiresome and perfunctory 
manner of some commonplace remarks, which the people 
have heard over and over again ; or becoming a Jupiter 
tonans, making up for lack of ideas by a thundering and 
aggressive voice ; or talking throughout of dollars and 
cents, without any allusion to the Gospel ; or indulging 
in general vituperation ; or venting his anger on some 

^rov. xviii. 17. 
18 



274 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

particular parishioner under a thin disguise of language 
which many of his hearers, as well as the object of his 
assault, can easily penetrate. I can hardly conceive a 
spectacle more cowardly and contemptible than that of an 
anointed minister taking unwarrantable advantage of 
the immunity which his sacred office bestows on him, 
protected by the armor of his priestly robes, sheltering 
himself behind the breastworks of the pulpit, and pouring 
forth vollevs of offensive lanoria^e that he would not dare 
to utter to a gentleman on the streets. Such license must 
arouse in every honest breast sentiments of righteous in- 
dignation. The people came for bread, and they received 
a stone. They came for peace and consolation, and their 
hearts were filled w 7 ith sadness and irritation. 

I would hesitate to use such strong language if I were 
not supported by prophetic authority: "Son of man," 
says the Lord to His prophet, "prophesy concerning the 
shepherds of Israel : . . . Thus saith the Lord God : Wo 
to the shepherds of Israel, that fed themselves. Should 
not the flocks be fed by the shepherds? You ate the 
milk and you clothed yourselves with the wool; . . ? 
but My flock you did not feed. The w r eak you have not 
strengthened, and that which was sick you have not healed, 
that which was broken you have not bound up, . . . 
Neither have you sought that which was lost. But you 
ruled over them with rigor and with a high hand." x 

The herald of the Gospel should make it a rule of his life 
never to degrade the pulpit by intruding into it his alleged 
personal grievances. Christ gives him authority to preach 
His Gospel of love, not the gospel of hate or of pelf. 
The preacher that substitutes the gospel of selfish greed 

1 Ezec. xxxiv. 2-4. 



THE PRIEST, THE HERALD OF THE GOSPEL. 275 

for the Gospel of Christ, desecrates the House of God 
like the money-changers whom our Lord drove from the 
temple; he dishonors his ministry; he detracts from the 
reverence which is due to his sacred profession ; he is a 
usurper, and not an ambassador of Christ. 

But do not the prophets frequently denounce in vehe- 
ment language, the rebellions children of Israel, and does 
not St. Paul instruct the minister of Christ to "reprove" 
and "rebuke/" as well as to "exhort" and "entreat" his 
congregation? Does not the Apostle himself severely 
reprehend the Corinthians and Galatians? I grant it. 
But if the Apostle tells Timothy to rebuke his hearers, 
he immediately adds that the rebuke is to be administered 
with "all patience and doctrine." And if he inflicts a 
wound in one sentence, he heals it in the next. He says 
to the Corinthians : " I did regret seeing that my Epistle 
saddened you although for an hour. Now I rejoice, not 
because ye were made sad, but because ye were made sad 
to penance. For ye were saddened according to God." x 
This is the language of a kind father whose words of re- 
proach are inspired by love and not by vindictiveness. He 
gravely chides the Galatians and calls them " senseless ; " 
but before laying down his pen, he thus addresses them 
with all the tenderness of a mother : " Mv little children, 
of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in 
you." 2 Surely, the dullest hearer can easily distinguish 
between the reproofs that are prompted by fatherly love 
and zeal, and the denunciations that are fomented by 
passion. The former produce sorrow unto repentance, as 
the Apostle himself says ; while the latter inflict bitter 
feelings and provoke resentment. 

1 II. Cor. vii. 8, 9, 2 Gal. iv. 19. 



276 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

You will say again : Are not our pastoral clergy obliged 
to discuss monetary subjects from the pulpit? For our 
churches are frequently burdened with debt, and in this 
country, where there is no union of Church and State, 
the pastor has to rely entirely on the voluntary contri- 
butions of the faithful. Most assuredly. Indeed, I 
have known some noble priests to whom even the 
most legitimate and urgent appeal for contributions was 
very distasteful, and who erred rather from defect than 
excess in the matter. But the pastor's efforts to meet 
his financial obligations will be rendered most success- 
ful, not by habitual complaints and persistent demands, 
but by a calm and dispassionate statement made in 
season. Our people are proverbially generous. They 
will never fail to respond to the reasonable demands 
of their devoted clergy. 

It is needless to say, that God sanctions the reverence 
paid to His priests, not to gratify their personal vanity, 
but to render their ministry more fruitful and effective; 
for the word of God acquires additional lustre and per- 
suasive force when it is proclaimed by men who are 
honored with public esteem and veneration. 

This leads me to the consideration of the far-reaching, 
all-pervading and indispensable influence of the priest in 
fostering and perpetuating among the people, the light of 
Christian truth. The priest is the one essential agent in 
the diffusion and conservation of Christianity j and the 
preaching of the Gospel through him is the divinely- 
appointed means for the accomplishment of that result. 
"How, then, shall they call on Him in whom they have 
not believed ? Or how shall they believe Him, of whom 
they have not heard ? And how shall they hear without 



THE PRIEST, THE HERALD OF THE GOSPEL. 277 

a preacher ? " l If each parish may be called a little world 
in itself, the apostolic man is the sun of that world. His 
beams radiate through every family. To borrow the idea 
of the Royal Prophet : His sound goeth forth into all the 
land within his orbit, and his words into the bounds there- 
of. There is no one who is not cherished by his heat. 2 
This luminary has, indeed, many satellites, but they are 
all subordinate to him, and receive their light through 
him, as the moon borrows her light from the sun. I am 
far from underrating the salutary influence in Christian 
life and piety that is exerted by parental instruction, by 
the atmosphere of Christian homes, by the catechism 
taught in the week-day and Sunday schools under the 
guidance of devoted men and women, by the circulation 
of Catholic periodicals, and the diffusion of sound religious 
books. But after giving full credit to these and other 
valuable auxiliaries, it must be admitted that the waters 
of grace, flowing through these channels, will generally 
move sluggishly, and may eventually be dried up, if 
they are not replenished and quickened by the fountain 
springing from the pulpit. Moreover, in almost every 
large congregation there is a considerable number of 
members who never receive any refreshment from these 
minor sources. They breathe no religious air at home, 
they read nothing but the daily papers, they are engrossed 
by the labors and solicitudes of daily life. The only 
opportunity they have of hearing the word of God is at 
the Sunday Mass, and if they are not nourished on that 
day by the food of the Gospel, they are doomed to a 
spiritual famine for the rest of the week. They are worse 
off than were the children of Israel in the desert, who had 

Romans x. 14. 2 Fs. xvm. 5-7. 



278 THR AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

to fast all day if they did not gather the manna in the 
morning. 

The Fathers of the Third Plenary Council, profoundly 
impressed with these facts, command in addition to the usual 
sermon delivered at the late Mass, " that all those who have 
the care of souls, shall on Sundays and Feast-days, not ex- 
cepting the summer season, at all Masses read distinctly in 
the vernacular, the Gospel of the day, and if time permits, 
instruct the people in the Law of the Lord for five minutes, 
all customs and pretexts to the contrary notwithstanding." 1 

So essential, indeed, to the preservation of Christianity 
is the ministry of preaching, that, if the voice of the 
Evangelist were hushed in a district or city for fifty 
years, the light of the Gospel would be well-nigh extin- 
guished in that region. We have abundant examples to 
confirm this statement. When, in the sixteenth century, 
the leaders of the Reformation determined to abolish the 
Catholic religion in Denmark, Norway, and other parts 
of Scandinavia, they adopted the most effective method 
for accomplishing their designs. "The Catholic clergy 
were commanded under penalty of death to quit the 
kingdom, and the same punishment was decreed against 
those who might harbor them." 2 The Catholic laity and 
their descendants were subjected, indeed, to many pains 
and disabilities, but they were allowed to remain in the 
country. The enemies of the ancient Church knew that 
by silencing the pastors, the lamp of faith would soon die 
out in the hearts of the faithful ; and their efforts were so 
successful that, up to the present century, scarcely any 
vestige of Catholicity remained in those lands. The last 
surviving priest could say in the pathetic language of the 

l Dec. No. 216. 2 Alzog in. 190. 



THE PRIEST, THK HERALD OP THE GOSPEL. 279 

Prophet Elias : " With zeal have I been zealous for the 
Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have 
forsaken Thy covenant. They have destroyed Thy altars, 
they have slain Thy prophets with the sword, and I alone 
am left, and they seek my life to take it away." l 

Daniel Webster in his memorable speech in the Girard 
will-case, delivered in the Supreme Court at Washington, 
eloquently and forcibly demonstrates the fact, that, from 
the days of the Apostles to our own time, the religion of 
Christ has never been propagated and perpetuated in any 
part of the world, except by the agency of the Christian 
ministry. "Where," he asks, "was Christianity ever re- 
ceived, where were its truths ever poured into the human 
heart, where did its waters, springing up into eternal life, 
ever burst forth, except in the track of ministers of the 
Gospel ? Does history record an instance of any part of 
the globe christianized by lay preachers ? And descending 
from kingdoms and empires to cities and countries, to 
parishes and villages, do we not all know that wherever 
Christianity has been taught by human agency, that 
agency was the agency of ministers of the Gospel?" 

But it is hardly necessary to say that the vast influence 
which the priest exerts, involves tremendous responsi- 
bility. It is not enough for the minister of God to be 
the depository of the law, and to announce it to the 
people. He must labor with all diligence in bringing 
the Gospel home to the minds and hearts of his hearers, 
by persuading them to make it their religious and moral 
guide. Like a diligent husbandman, he must not only 
plant the seed, but endeavor to reap an abundant harvest. 
He should speak to them " not in the persuasive words 

l III. Kings xix. 14. 



280 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of human wisdom, but in the showing of spirit and 
power," for he knows that it is in vain for him to preach 
to full churches, if he leaves the souls empty. 

What was said by Simeon of Christ, may be justly 
applied to every pastor of souls : " He is set for the fall 
and fur the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign 
which shall be contradicted." l For under God, it largely 
rests with him whether they shall accept the living faith, 
without which it is impossible to please God. Like his 
Saviour, though in a subordinate sense, he is " an advocate 
with the Father " for the people, and an advocate with 
the people for the Father. 

And never did any counsel in civil or criminal court 
occupy so responsible a position as the Catholic preacher 
when upholding the cause of righteousness in the pulpit. 
God's interests are at stake. Man's immortal soul is on 
trial. Each individual conscience has to decide the issue 
for himself. It is the duty of the priest to vindicate 
God's honor, majesty, sovereignty, and supreme dominion, 
His justice and sanctity, and to insist on man's submission 
to the divine Law. 

He has to convince the people that the narrow road, 
which their inclinations abhor, is to be followed, and that 
the broad road, which their passions and self-love desire 
to pursue, is to be shunned. With the prophet of the 
Lord, the priest says to them : " I call heaven and earth 
to witness this day, that I have set before you life and 
death, blessing and cursing. Choose, therefore, life that 
both thou and thy seed may live." 4 

To be successful in his pleading, he requires no small 
degree of learning, tact, and argumentative persuasion, 

1 Luke n.34. 2 Deut. xxx. 1 9. 



THE PRIEST, THE HERALD OF TFTE GOSPEL. 281 

especially when we consider the three astute advocates 
arrayed against him; — the World, the Flesh, and the 
Devil, who will present the most specious and insidious 
arguments on the opposite side. " Son of man, I have 
made thee a watchman to the house of Israel, and thou 
shah hear the word out of My mouth and shalt tell it to 
them from Me. If when I say to the wicked : Thou 
shalt surely die; thou declare it not to him, nor speak to 
him, that he may be converted from his wicked way and 
live : the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but 
I will require his blood at thy hand. But if thou give 
warning to the wicked, and he be not converted from his 
wickedness, he indeed shall die in his iniquity, but thou 
hast delivered thy soul." 1 

Mr. Gladstone, being asked what sort of sermons he 
liked best, wrote that, in his opinion, "the clergymen of 
the day were not, as a rule, severe enough upon their 
congregations. They do not sufficiently lay upon the 
souls and consciences of their hearers, their moral obliga- 
tions, or probe their lives and bring them up to the bar 
of conscience ; the sermons most needed are those similar 
to the one that offended Lord Melbourne when he corn- 
plained that he was obliged to listen to a preacher who 
insisted upon a man's applying his religion to his private 
life. This is the kind of preaching men need most and 
get least of." 

Those sermons are the most effective in which the 
people are so much absorbed by what they hear that they 
lose sight, as it were, of the preacher. 

You may always hope to preach with fruit by observing 
the following simple suggestions: 1°. In every sermon 

J Ezec. in. 17-19. 



282 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

you deliver, have a definite object in view, such as the 
vindication of some special truth, the advocacy of some 
virtue, or the denunciation of some vice. Let every 
sentence in the discourse have some relation to the central 
idea, and help to illustrate and enforce it. 

2°. Borrow as freely as possible, your thoughts and 
even your expressions from the pages of Scripture, es- 
pecially of the New Testament. 

3°. Master your subject to the best of your ability. 
Commit to memory at least the leading facts logically 
arranged. 

4°. Be intensely earnest in the delivery of your dis- 
course. Thus your hearers will be convinced that your 
heart is in your work. They will be in sympathy with 
you, they will catch your spirit, and will be warmed by 
the sacred flame issuing from your mouth. 

The Gospel message conduces most to edification and 
spiritual profit when conveyed through the medium of 
direct and simple language. High-sounding phrases may 
tickle the ear, and gain admiration for the speaker, but 
they will not excite compunction of heart in the hearers. 
Affectation of style and manner, or straining for effect, 
makes a preacher unnatural and pedantic. It is a dese- 
cration of the pulpit. 

Plain speech that needs no effort to be understood, is 
not only necessary for the masses, but is the most acceptable 
even to cultivated minds. Men listen to sermons not for 
the sake of abstract information, but for religious and 
moral improvement. The true aim of a discourse is not 
so much to enlighten the mind as to move the heart, not 
so much to convince us of our duty as to impel us to 
fulfil it ; therefore, the appeals best calculated to rouse 



THE PRIEST, THE HERALD OP THE GOSPEL. 283 

the conscience, are straightforward and to the point, un- 
encumbered by ponderous phraseology. This is genuine 
eloquence, because it fulfils the legitimate end of preaching, 
namely, the spiritual progress of the hearers. 

The most sublime thoughts may be embodied in the 
plainest words. What is more elevated in sentiment than 
Paul's exhortation on Charity, and yet what language is 
more clear and transparent than his? Any mental ex- 
ertion required to follow the preacher and seize his 
thoughts, is painful to the audience, and chilling to the 
spirit of devotion. Daniel Webster used to complain of 
this kind of discourses. It involved too severe a strain 
on the intellect to be in harmony with the spirit of 
worship. In the House of God, he said that he wanted 
to meditate " upon the simple verities, and the undoubted 
facts of religion/' and not on mere abstractions or specu- 
lations. 

Except on extraordinary occasions, a sermon should 
not be lengthy. A discourse occupying from twenty to 
thirty minutes, if judiciously prepared, will contain abun- 
dant matter to instruct and edify without fatiguing the 
congregation. A surfeit of spiritual, as well as of cor- 
poral, food is hurtful to those who partake of it. 

St. Francis de Sales approved extremely of shortness in 
sermons and said that lengthiness was the most general 
defect of the preachers of his day. " When the vine," 
he said, " produces a great deal of wood, then it is that it 
bears the least fruit. A multitude of words never pro- 
duces a great effect. Observe all the homilies and sermons 
of the ancient fathers — how short they are, but O how 
much more efficacious they were than ours ! The good 
St. Francis of Assisi in his rule, enjoins upon the preachers 



284 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of his Order to be brief. Believe me, I speak from ex- 
perience, and from very long experience j the more you 
say, the less will be remembered ; the more you say, the 
less will your hearers profit. By dint of overloading 
their memory you make it break down, as lamps are put 
out by too much oil, and plants are stifled by too much 
watering. When a sermon is too long, the end makes us 
forget the middle, and the middle, the beginning " 

"Preachers of very moderate powers are endurable 
provided they are brief, while such as are excellent 
become burdensome when they are too long. A preacher 
cannot have a more offensive fault than lengthiness. 
You must say little and that good, and inculcate it 
diligently, not making the least account of those fas- 
tidious minds who are displeased when a preacher repeats 
a thing, and goes over the same ground again. What ! 
is it not necessary in making a work of iron, to heat it 
over and over again, and in painting, to touch and retouch 
repeatedly ? How much more, then, is it needful, in order 
to imprint eternal truths on hearts confirmed in evil, and 
on hardened intellects ? ,n 



1 Life of St. Francis de Sales, by Robert Ornsby. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Preparation of Sermons. — Extemporaneous 

Preaching. 

THE value and efficacy of a sermon usually depend 
on the care bestowed on its composition. The 
process of preparation is two-fold, the remote and the 
proximate. 

The remote preparation is the work of a whole life. 
It embraces every department of knowledge that has any 
relation to the sacred ministry, and includes all sources of 
information from the Bible to a newspaper paragraph 
that may point a moral. 

It is manifest that the more the mind is stored with 
sacred science, the richer and more abundant will be the 
treasures of wisdom that it can dispense to the people. 
" Reading/' says Lord Bacon, "maketh a full man; con- 
ference, a ready man; and writing, an exact man." In a 
word, remote preparation is the raw material out of which 
the apostolic workman will construct a discourse fitting 
the intellectual and moral stature of his congregation. 

I would strongly advise young clergymen to provide 
themselves with a repertory, or memorandum book, alpha- 
betically arranged, in which to note down any striking 
idea or passage that will be suggested during their pro- 
fessional studies and discursive reading. Many a precious 
ray of thought will flash across the student's mind, like 

285 



286 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

the transit of a planet in the heavens, but will be irre- 
vocably lost to his vision, unless photographed on the 
spot, and recorded on paper. The best of our English, 
as well as of French, writers have been accustomed to 
catch those fleeting visitors before they vanished into the 
regions of oblivion. Bacon left after him copious manu- 
scripts which he called Sudden Thoughts set down for Use. 
For more than thirty years, the Count de Maistre was 
accustomed to jot down whatever subject of particular 
interest he met in his reading, accompanying his extracts 
with comments. He recorded, also, before they were 
extinguished from his memory, those sudden scintilla- 
tions of thought that shot through his mind. 

We are all familiar with the two volumes of exquisite 
matter left us by Father Faber, and which are published 
under the title, Notes on Doctrinal and Spiritual Subjects. 
They are gems of the first water, and we shall ever regret 
the setting that would have been given them by the mind 
that conceived them, had God willed to spare him a little 
longer. As they are, they afford to the serious thinker 
ample food for meditation on some of the most exalted 
truths of our holy faith. 

Besides the remote preparation, the minister of God 
should devote a reasonable time to the proximate and 
immediate construction of his discourse, by a profound 
and prayerful consideration of the subject-matter on which 
he intends to speak, as well as on the class of people he 
will have to address. This important preliminary survey 
will enable him to preach with clearness and precision, 
with order and method, as well as with confidence and 
fruit. By neglecting this preparatory exercise, the major- 
ity of speakers will betray a rashness or a diffidence of 



THE PREPARATION OF SERMONS. 287 

manner ; they will indulge in tedious repetitions, and will 
inflict on their hearers an ill-arranged discourse. 

The conscientious legal practitioner does not trust to 
his general knowledge of jurisprudence in pleading the 
cause of his client; but in each particular case, he studies 
the law and the facts bearing on the question in dispute, 
and he formulates a brief which may be called a legal 
sermon. 

When a trustworthy physician is consulted on a serious 
case, he first makes a thorough diagnosis of the patient 
before him, and then applies to the invalid the general 
principles of medical science which he has mastered as a 
student, as well as the special knowledge he has since 
acquired in the most recent development of his profession. 

The cause of the defeat of the French in the Franco- 
Prussian war is ascribed to the fact, that, while both 
nations were warlike and had vast military resources, 
Germany was actually prepared for the conflict, but 
France was not. The first Napoleon, perhaps the greatest 
military genius of the century, though having under his 
command w T ell-equipped armies, never risked an important 
engagement without elaborate preparation. He mapped 
out a plan of campaign, carefully surveyed the field, and 
acquainted himself, as far as possible, with the strength 
and position of the enemy. He posted his men on the 
best vantage-ground, and threw his most reliable troops 
on points where their charge would be most effective and 
decisive. 

The Christian leader, armed " with the sword of the 
Spirit which is the word of God," should in like manner 
diligently set before himself the nature of the spiritual 
adversaries against whom he has to contend. He should 



288 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

arouse to action his intellectual and moral forces, and 
arrange them in the most judicious order, if he hopes to 
succeed in routing the enemy and in conquering for his 
Master the citadel of the soul. Should he recklessly 
hazard an assault without this preliminary study, he may 
fire at random, and engage in a desultory warfare, which 
will inflict few wounds on sin and gain few conquests 
for Christ. 

The priest who ascends the pulpit without due pre- 
meditation on occasions which could easily have been 
foreseen, is tempting Providence and dishonoring his 
ministry ; he is lowering the dignity of the Gospel 
message, and exposing himself to well-merited humilia- 
tion and criticism. Several years ago, a certain clergy- 
man delivered a discourse in the Baltimore Cathedral, 
in presence of some distinguished Prelates, including 
Archbishop Hughes. At the dinner which followed, the 
preacher remarked : <( Upon my word, until I entered 
the pulpit, I had not determined on the subject of my 
sermon." "I thought as much when I heard you," 
quietly rejoined the Archbishop of New York. The 
speaker had hoped to be complimented on his impromptu 
effort j but instead of praise, he received a just rebuke, 
for he had had ample leisure to arrange his thoughts and 
study his sermon. He was guilty of rashness if he had 
not prepared the sermon ; or of vanity and falsehood if 
he had previously studied it, while pretending that the 
discourse was improvised. 

The length of time to be devoted to the preparation of 
a sermon largely depends on local circumstances, as well 
as on the talents and experience of the priest. Bishop 
McGill, of Jiiehmond, one of the most scholarly and 



THE PREPARATION OF SERMONS. 289 

logical Christian apologists of his day, was accustomed 
to begin the composition of the Sunday discourse on the 
preceding Thursday. 

Father Lacordaire, as one of his colleagues informed 
me, made it a rule not to deliver a set sermon without 
receiving at least one day's notice. " I have too much 
respect/' he said, " for the word of God, for my hearers, 
as well as for myself, to preach without due preparation." 
He referred, of course, to preachments delivered on the 
regularly appointed days, or on extraordinary occasions 
which could have been foreseen. For I have no doubt 
that, in an emergency, the illustrious Dominican would 
have spoken at an hour's notice, rather than deprive the 
congregation of the blessing of God's word. Nay, he 
would several times a day cheerfully "give to them that 
asked him," and " would deal his bread to the hungry," 
rather than "send them away fasting;" for like St. 
Francis de Sales, he would say : " God will graciously 
multiply the loaves." 

Some zealous pastors have adopted the practice of de- 
termining on the subject of the weekly discourse, and of 
constructing its framework, or skeleton, at the beginning 
of the week. This skeleton gradually and imperceptibly 
assumes a living soul, with flesh, and bones, and nerves, 
form and development. New ideas spring up, and arrange 
themselves almost unconsciously in the mind, even while 
the priest is taking some recreation, or while engaged in 
his daily pursuits. Fresh thoughts are suggested by the 
perusal of a book, and by habits of observation. By the 
end of the w r eek, he has before him a clear and well- 
defined picture of the theme he intends to announce to 
the congregation. 
i9^ 



290 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

As to the manner of preparing a discourse, some are in 
the habit of writing it out, and committing it to memory ; 
others take extensive notes, while others content them- 
selves with profoundly meditating on the subject, and 
arranging the thoughts in their mind. Without pre- 
suming to assert which of these is the best method, I will 
simply say that deep consideration is as essential to the 
merit of a sermon, as contrition is to the integrity of the 
Sacrament of Penance. Each should follow the genius 
and bent of his own mind. But it is universally con- 
ceded that young clergymen should, for some years 
after their ordination, write their sermons and study 
them by heart, so as to acquire habits of order and pre- 
cision of thought together with copiousness and felicity 
of expression. 

But some one to justify himself for not studying his 
sermon beforehand, may quote the following words of 
our Lord : " Take no thought how or what to speak, for 
it shall be given you in that hour what to speak. " ! 
" Does not this text warrant me in trusting in the inspi- 
ration of Heaven, rather than in my own intellectual 
efforts? and do I not pay a higher homage to God by 
relying more on His promised light, than on my own 
industry for the success of my exhortations ? " 

This oft-quoted and much abused passage refers, as the 
context clearly shows, to those critical and perilous times 
when the Apostles were brought before kings and gover- 
nors, and when they were exhorted to proclaim their faith 
in Christ at the risk of their life. It has no application, 
therefore, to the ordinary preaching of the Gospel, and 
it cannot be justly cited as a plea for exempting us from 

'Matt. x. 19. 



THE PREPARATION OP SERMONS. 291 

the obligation of studious application before announcing 
the Word of God. 

Again, I may be told that the Apostle despised " the 
persuasive words of human wisdom/' that divine truth 
needs no embellishment, that it is most attractive when 
presented in its native simplicity, that it is best adorned 
when adorned the least, and that to clothe the living word 
in the vesture of studied phrases is as useless as 

" To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, to throw a perfume on 

the violet." 

But who can deny that the gem of heavenly truth ought 
to have an appropriate setting? The Gospel message 
should be presented not, indeed, with meretricious orna- 
ments, but dressed in language that will exhibit it in all 
its grace and beauty ; now, this cannot be accomplished 
without human skill and labor. 

Another will say : " I am so much preoccupied by other 
engrossing duties of the ministry that I have scarcely a 
leisure moment to prepare the usual Sunday sermon." 
No one, on the plea of want of time, can reasonably 
exempt himself from the composition of the discourse for 
the Lord's-Day. A clergyman of systematic habits, who 
judiciously economizes the hours of the day, will ordinarily 
find ample space for the faithful discharge of all his minis- 
terial works, among which the preaching of the Gospel 
holds the first rank. It should not, therefore, be relegated 
to a subordinate place. When the Apostles were compelled 
for want of time to pretermit a portion of the duties that 
had devolved on them, they specially reserved for them- 
selves that of preaching, and committed other functions of 
the ministry to the deacons. 1 

^cts VI. 



292 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

It will, indeed, not unfrequently happen that the minis- 
ter of God will be called upon to deliver a discourse though 
with little opportunity for a previous consideration of the 
subject. To consent to speak words unto edification in 
such contingencies, when charity and zeal demand it, is 
the mark of an apostolic man. On such extraordinary 
occurrences, he can confidently apply to himself the words 
addressed to Moses : " Go, therefore, and I will be in thy 
mouth, and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak." 1 

If he feels a sense of humiliation from the consciousness 
of not having acquitted himself to his satisfaction, the 
sacrifice will be well-pleasing to God. His personal 
reputation sinks in value before the salvation of his 
neighbor. It is far better for him to serve his brethren 
with spiritual bread hastily prepared, than to send them 
away empty. Instead of finding fault with him who 
ministered to them, they will admire and bless him in 
their heart, as the multitude blessed our Lord for feeding 
them in an emergency in the desert with plain, but nutri- 
tious food. 

The conduct of St. Francis de Sales on such occasions 
is a safe guide for the ambassador of Christ to follow : 
" When I was provost," says Francis, " I used to preach 
on every occasion, whether in the Cathedral or the parish 
churches, down to the smallest confraternities; I never 
refused any one. 'Give to them that ask.' My dear 
father used to hear the bells ringing, and asked who 
preached? ' Who but your son?' was the reply. At 
last, he took me aside and said : i My son, indeed you 
preach too much ; even on week days, I hear the sermon 
bell going, and it is forever the provost, the provost ! 

1 Exod. iv. 12. 



THE PREPARATION OF SERMONS. 293 

In my time it was very different ; sermons were much 
rarer, but goodness knows what real preachments they 
were; — so studied, so learned, — more Latin and Greek 
in one of them than you stick into a dozen ! Everybody 
was edified and delighted ; they trooped to listen as if they 
expected to pick up manna. But now you make sermons 
such everyday matters, that nobody thinks much of them 
or of you.' You see, my father said what he thought : 
you may believe that it was from no lack of love to me ; 
but he went by the world's maxims. Believe me, we 
don't preach half enough : 'Nunquam satis dicitur, quod 
nunquam satis discitur? " 

With regard to discourses and phrases which have been 
popularly classified as extemporaneous, or spoken on the 
spur of the moment, I may remark that they were either 
carefully prepared immediately beforehand, or the ideas 
they contained were the fruit of long and deep study. 

Sheridan had the reputation of being a great impromptu 
orator. But those who were familiar with his private 
life, declare that he was accustomed to polish and repolish 
with the most diligent attention those brilliant passages 
which fascinated the House of Commons, and which had 
all the appearance of improvised flashes of thought. 

Edward Everett, on one occasion, delivered an address 
to the students of Harvard University. In the course of 
his remarks, he upset, apparently by accident, a glass of 
water that sat before him. Instantly he apostrophized 
the drop that had adhered to his uplifted finger, and 
dazzled his audience by an eloquent allusion to the power 
and utility of water. His hearers entertained no doubt 
that the digression was entirely spontaneous and unpre- 
meditated. When the exercise was over, the speaker had 



294 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

the candor to avow to the students that the spilling of the 
water was intentional, and that every word of the apos- 
trophe had been prepared with the greatest care. 

" I was informed," says Goodrich, " by a member of 
Monroe's Cabinet, that he heard Pinkney, about five 
o'clock of a winter morning, reciting and committing to 
memory in his own room, the peroration of a plea which 
he heard delivered the same day before the Supreme 
Court." 1 This peroration was regarded at the time as 
an extemporaneous outburst. 

The extraordinary ability which some orators have 
displayed in improvising discourses, is due to their long 
and earnest habits of study. The words of our Saviour 
may be applied to them : " The scribe instructed in the 
kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a house- 
holder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things 
and old." 2 The genius of these men does not consist 
in suddenly conceiving and giving expression to new 
thoughts in the heat of an oration, but rather in drawing 
out the intellectual forces from the well-furnished citadel 
of their mind, and in promptly marshalling them for the 
occasion. Sometimes in the glow and fervor of delivery, 
when all the powers of the mind are aroused to their 
highest energy, a beautiful idea long since forgotten, or a 
charming picture which had almost faded from the mind, 
will spontaneously reappear before the mental vision, and 
be eagerly seized to enrich and illustrate the argument of 
the speaker. But these are " angels' visits, few and far 
between." 

Bishop England, of Charleston, was perhaps the ablest 
pulpit orator that has ever appeared before an American 

1 Personal "Recollections, p. 776. 2 Matt. xm. 52. 



THE PREPARATION OF SERMONS. 295 

Catholic audience. After a few moments' notice, he could 
speak for several consecutive hours on any subject within 
the range of the religious domain ; and so eager were the 
people to hear him, without regard to their convictions 
of faith, that he was often solicited to address a congre- 
gation on arriving in a town or city after a fatiguing 
journey. Having been invited to preach at the dedication 
of St. John's Church, Frederick, in 1839, he reached that 
town on Sunday morning after travelling all night in the 
stage-coach from Baltimore. When the sexton went for 
him to the Sacristy at the appointed time, he found the 
bishop buried in profound sleep. The discourse, how- 
ever, was worthy of the orator. Being once questioned 
by a priest how he could preach extempore with so much 
facility, clearness, and force, he gave this answer : " For 
many years after my ordination, I not only carefully 
composed my sermons, but I even wrote them out, and 
committed them, at least substantially, to memory. My 
ministerial life has been a continuous preparation for 
the pulpit." He was a diligent student up to his last 
illness. 

The speech of Daniel Webster in the United States 
Senate in reply to Hayne, is often quoted as a marvellous 
effort of impromptu oratory. Hayne's speech was in re- 
sponse to a previous oration of Webster. His argument 
was regarded by his friends as invincible, whilst Mr. 
Webster was thought to have exhausted his ammunition 
in his previous discourse. Hayne's address was made on 
the 25th of January, 1830, and as Webster was known 
to have spent that evening in the social company of 
friends, he had no time to study his reply except on the 
following morning. He spoke for several hours on the 



296 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHHTST. 

26th and 27th of January, and competent critics consider 
his rejoinder the ablest forensic effort ever pronounced 
in the American Senate. If this oration, delivered in an 
emergency, abounds in so much wealth of constitutional 
knowledge, it was the fruit of the accumulated labor of 
many years. It was subjected after its delivery to a 
long and careful process of revision before it was given 
officially to the public. 

Mr. Winthrop asserts that it was Webster's practice to 
prepare himself long beforehand for extraordinary con- 
tingencies, so that when the occasion presented itself he 
was ready to strike. In his speech on the Presidential 
Protest, he refers to England as "a power which has 
dotted over the surface of the whole globe with her pos- 
sessions and military posts, whose morning drum-beat 
following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, 
circles the earth with one unbroken strain of the martial 
airs of England." Being asked whether that elegant pas- 
sage was an impromptu, "An impromptu !" he exclaimed 
with an expression of surprise. "Why that idea first 
occurred to me twenty years before, while I was standing 
on the Heights of Abraham in Quebec, and I have been 
trying to work it into shape ever since. But I have 
never succeeded to my satisfaction till now." 1 

In his oration at the laying of the corner-stone of the 
Bunker Hill Monument, he thus begins to apostrophize 
the surviving soldiers of the Revolution who sat before 
him : "Venerable men ! you have come down to us from 
a former generation." The entire passage, containing 
about five hundred words, was also considered as the 
expression of a sudden thought inspired by the sight of 

1 Robert C. Winthrop, in Scribnzr's Magazine, Jan , 1S94. 



THE PREPARATION OF SERMONS. 297 

the veterans in front of him. But his son declared that, 
some time before the speech was delivered, he heard his 
father declaiming to himself these words while fishing at 
Cape Cod. 

Cardinal Wiseman's range of studies was so extensive 
that, on a few moments' notice, as Cardinal Vaughan 
informed me, he could instruct and entertain an audi- 
ence for half an hour on any subject proposed to him, 
embracing literature, science, art, or religion. His brain, 
like a melodious organ, was so rich in harmony of thought 
and so well attuned, that it readily responded to the touch 
of its master mind. 

The following instance of the Cardinal's wonderful 
power of improvisation is given by one who was present 
on the occasion. 

In 1855, His Eminence visited Roulers College, near 
Bruges, in Belgium. To do him honor, the professors 
with Belgian hospitality gave a grand dinner, followed 
by an Academia and Public Reception. During dinner, 
the conversation turned on extempore speaking, and Mr. 
Joseph Algar, the English professor, who knew the 
Cardinal's wonderful power in this respect, mentioned 
it at table, and it became the subject of general conversa- 
tion. The professors, anxious "to see for themselves," 
begged His Eminence to say a few words at the Reception. 
He consented, leaving it to them to name the subject. 
For a few minutes, the matter was eagerly discussed 
amongst them, when at last the Professor of Mathematics 
wickedly suggested the word "Logarithms" It was caught 
up immediately. The Cardinal did not hesitate, and the 
company repaired to the College Hall for the Academia 
and Public Reception. 



298 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

The elite of the town were there. Many distinguished 
professors from Bruges, some of them mathematicians, 
had come to pay their respects to His Eminence, and all 
the College professors and students weie in their places, 
for the whisper had gone round that the English Cardinal's 
address was to be delivered in French, and was to be a 
test of his powers of extempore speaking. In fifteen 
minutes the distinguished guest was ready. The company 
were in a little flutter of excitement. The Cardinal was 
not. He rose quietly and thoughtfully, and after the 
usual college cheering had subsided, to the astonishment 
of everybody, he lectured for three-quarters of an hour 
on the subject of Logarithms, Clearly and concisely, he 
first explained his terms, and then proceeded to discuss 
the whole subject. On sitting down, he was greeted with 
thunders of applause. Everyone was amazed at the depth 
of his knowledge of the subject, and scarcely less surprised 
at the beautiful language in which he had clothed his 
ideas. 

I was informed by Mr. Blaine shortly after the Presi- 
dential election of 1884, in which he was defeated by Mr. 
Cleveland, that during the campaign he had spoken four 
hundred times in forty days, or on an average ten times 
a day. Nearly all these speeches were, of course, impro- 
vised, and they who heard or read them, could not fail to 
be impressed with the variety of the subjects discussed, as 
well as with the immense resources, and magnetic power 
of the orator. His inexhaustible fund of information, 
and his marvellous ease and felicity of expression were 
the recompense of close study, and of the experience 
and observation of twenty years spent in both Houses 
of Congress. 



THE PREPARATION OF SERMONS. 299 

The conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing remarks 
is this, that no speaker can hope to pour out a copious and 
steady stream of improvised declamation with credit to 
-himself, unless he has drunk deep and long at the foun- 
tain of knowledge. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The Priest as a Catechist. 

THE catechism is the abridgment of Scripture doctrines. 
It contains more solid food than is found in many 
pretentious volumes. 

Chief Justice Taney said that the little Catechism which 
he learned in his youth, formed the basis of his legal 
knowledge. 

It is not only to the congregation assembled in the 
house of God that Christ's ambassador is required to 
preach the truths of salvation. He has, also, to catechize 
the children in the church or schoolroom ; for like the 
Apostle, it is his duty to give milk to the " little ones 
in Christ/' 1 as well as "meat" to the strong. The 
instruction of -children is the most imperative, as well 
as the most fruitful, work of the ministry ; and there- 
fore, to the man of God, it is the most congenial and 
delightful of occupations. The best argument and the 
strongest incentive which God's minister can have for 
teaching children, is furnished by the example of Christ. 
It is chiefly by grouping together the various texts 
of the Gospel in which our Lord refers to the young, 
that we can adequately realize His special predilection 
for them. 

'I. Cor. in. 1. 
300 



THE PfUEST AS A CATECHLST. 301 

" I give praise/' He says, " to Thee, O Father, Lord 
of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hidden these things 
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to 
little ones." 1 "And Jesus calling unto Him a little child, 
set him in the midst of them, and said : Amen I say to 
you, unless you be converted and become as little children, 
you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Who- 
soever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, 
he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven. And he that 
shall receive one such little child, in My name, receiveth 
Me. But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones 
that believe in Me, it were better for him that a mill-stone 
should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be 
drowned in the depth of the sea." 2 "Then were little 
children presented to Him, that He should impose hands 
upon them and pray. And the disciples rebuked them. 
But Jesus said to them : Suffer the little children, and 
forbid them not to come to Me; for the kingdom of 
heaven is for such. And when He had imposed hands 
upon them, He departed from thence." 3 "And the chief 
priests and scribes seeing . . . the children crying in the 
temple, and saying : Hosanna to the Son of David, were 
moved with indignation, and said to Him : Hearest Thou 
what these say ? And Jesus said to them : Yea. have 
you never read : Out of the mouth of infants and of suck- 
lings Thou hast perfected praise?" 4 

Our Saviour tells us here that children's innocence, 
simplicity, and humility render them fit depositories of 
God's revelation, and worthy heirs of His kingdom, tie 
tenderly embraces and blesses them ; He threatens with 

1 Matt. xi. 25. 3 Ibid. xix. 13-15. 

2 Matt, xviii. l i-d. 4 Ibid xxi. 15, 16. 



302 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

the most severe reprobation those who scandalize them ; 
He rebukes His disciples for trying to repel them from 
Him ; He quickens the pastors' zeal for them by de- 
claring that the fatherly affection bestowed on them, He 
regards as shown to Himself; and while He shrunk from 
the plaudits of men, and fled when they would make Him 
their King, He receives with complacency the praises of 
children. As the holocaust of a lamb was most pleasing 
to the Father, so are the hosannas of the younglings of 
the Christian flock most grateful to the Son. 

With the beautiful example of Christ before them, we 
are not surprised to find that the most learned and eminent 
fathers, bishops, doctors and apostolic missionaries of the 
Church have been particularly devoted to the Christian 
instruction of youth. 

One of the first literary works of St. Augustine after 
he was raised to the episcopate, was his admirable treatise 
De Catechizandis Rudibus, written for the use of a deacon 
of Carthage. 

It was at the urgent request of the Fathers of the 
Tridentine Synod, that Pius IV., the reigning Pope, 
ordered the compilation of the Catechism of the Council 
of Trent. 1 The supervision of this valuable work was 
assigned to St. Charles Borromeo. And the same Council 
directs all pastors of souls to have children instructed in 
catechism on Sundays and holidays of obligation. St. 
Charles was one of the first prelates to carry out this 
provision of the Council. He enjoined on all parish 
priests the duty of teaching catechism every Sunday, and 
he established throughout his vast diocese of Milan 740 
schools of Christian doctrine, which were attended by 

1 Sess. xvii. 



THE PRIEST AS A CATECHIST. 303 

40,000 scholars, and superintended by upwards of 3000 
catechists. 

Not less zealous than St. Charles in the instruction of 
youth was Don Bartholomew, Archbishop of Braga, in 
Portugal, one of the most conspicuous lights of the Council. 
Prior to the Tridentine Synod, on the occasion of a visi- 
tation of his diocese, he observed a shepherd boy during 
a violent storm remain at his post regardless of shelter, 
lest the wolves and foxes, which abounded there, should 
snatch any of the sheep or the lambs committed to his care. 
The sight deeply touched him, and elicited from him this 
reflection : " How much more watchful a pastor of souls 
ought to be in protecting his flock from the snares of the 
enemy ! " Eight years before his death, he resigned his see 
and consecrated the remainder of his life to the cherished 
occupation of teaching the young in the villages lying in 
the neighborhood of his convent. 

St. Ignatius, though charged with the government of 
a new Religious Order, found time to catechize children 
in the rudiments of Christian faith. Even while in 
Rome he gave lessons in catechism in one of the churches. 
His imperfect knowledge of Italian was amply redeemed 
by the fervor with which he taught. Such is the charm 
of genuine apostolic speech, though unadorned with elo- 
cutionary art, that canonists, theologians, and men of rank 
came eagerly to hear him. The fatherly love of his heart 
was expressed on his countenance ; and ihere was a sacred 
fire in his simple, earnest words that shed warmth, as well 
as light, on the souls of his hearers. 

When St. Francis Xavier arrived in Goa, he found the 
Portuguese Christians in a state of deplorable ignorance 
and vice. Their pernicious example w r as an almost in- 



304 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

superable barrier to the conversion of the native infidels. 
He began his apostolic labors with the rising generation. 
He walked through the streets of Goa, bell in hand, and 
implored parents and masters to send their children and 
slaves to catechism in the church. He instructed the 
little ones in the elements of Christian faith, and they, in 
turn, became young evangelists in their respective homes, 
edifying their parents by their piety and example, so that 
the words of the Psalmist were fulfilled in them : " Out 
of the mouth of infants Thou hast perfected praise/' 

The scholarly and pious Cardinal Bellarmine, Arch- 
bishop of Capua, who was the most formidable champion 
in his day against the antagonists of the Church, did not 
disdain to stoop to children and to feed them with the 
milk of Christian knowledge. He is the author of one 
of the best catechisms ever compiled. He personally in- 
structed the young in his cathedral and in other churches 
of the diocese, and enjoined the same duty on all pastors 
under his charge. 

St. Vincent de Paul took pains in mature years to learn 
the patois in vogue in the country districts that thus he 
might reach the hearts and minds of the young, and 
impart to them the principles of Christian faith. 

The first care of St. Francis de Sales on taking charge 
of his diocese, was to institute catechetical instructions, 
which he enlivened and illustrated by examples and com- 
parisons frequently repeated under different forms, in order 
to impress them on the mind. The holy bishop never 
dispensed himself from this duty unless his other occupa- 
tions rendered it absolutely necessary to do so. " I had 
the happiness of assisting at these blessed instructions," 
said a cotemporary, "and never before did I witness such 



THE PRIEST AS A CATECHIST. 305 

a sight. The good and gentle Father was seated on a 
raised chair, his little army around him. It was charm- 
ing to hear how familiarly he explained the rudiments of 
faith. At each step, numerous comparisons fell from his 
lips. He looked at his little crowd, and his little crowd 
looked at him. He became a child with them in order to 
form in them the perfect man according to Jesus Christ." 
Not only the young, but persons of every age and rank 
frequented these instructions. The bishop's grace and 
simplicity while explaining the most profound mysteries 
of faith, greatly interested his hearers, enlightened the 
ignorant, edified the learned, and did good to all. 

His mother, Madam de Boisy, was very assiduous in 
her attendance whenever she visited Annecy. Her sou, 
telling her one day that it was a distraction to him to see 
among his little ones her from whom he had first learned 
the catechism, she replied : " My son, I taught you the 
letter, but from your lips I learn the hidden meaning 
of our sacred mysteries in which I have been very ill 
instructed." He directed his clergy to give catechetical 
lessons every Sunday for two hours before Vespers. 

I might also speak of Gerson, the famous Chancellor 
of Paris, and of Bossuet, one of the greatest pulpit orators 
that France, or perhaps any other nation, has ever pro- 
duced. Both of these eminent men felt that they were 
honoring their sacred ministry and themselves, also, by 
consecrating their declining years to the instruction of 
youth. 

A little reflection will enable us to understand why 
those illustrious churchmen, following the example of 
the Incarnate Word, were so assiduous in the training 
of the young. 
20 



306 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

A child is susceptible of impressions at an earlier age 
than is commonly imagined, and first impressions last the 
longest. Train up a child in the way he should go, " and 
when he is old he will not depart from it." 1 Pope con- 
veys the same idea when he says : 

"'Tis education forms the common mind ; 
Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined." 

This thought is more tersely expressed in the axiom : 
" The child is father to the man." 

It is, therefore, a matter of supreme importance whether 
the kingdom of the youthful soul shall be under the 
dominion of the angel of light or of the angel of darkness. 
It is of vital moment to the child's future career whether 
the maxims of Christ or the maxims of the world shall be 
first inscribed on the tabula rasa of his heart. The first 
inscriptions recorded on the tablet of the soul, though 
afterward blurred and partially defaced by sin and the 
dust of neglect, are apt in the long run to come to light 
again when exposed to a healthy religious atmosphere. I 
am aware, indeed, that many have ended in the flesh who 
" had begun in the spirit," while many others after a bad 
beginning, have ended well. But these are the exceptions, 
not the rule. I knew a gentleman in North Carolina who 
had received an excellent Christian training in Baltimore, 
but who afterward drifted away from the faith of his 
fathers. He declared that he was frequently haunted by 
the image of the venerable pastor who had instructed him, 
and the early admonitions of the priest often rose up in 
judgment against him. He found no peace till, like the 
Prodigal, he returned to his Father's house. 

1 Prov. xxn. 6. 



THE PRIEST AS A CATECHTST. 307 

" It is good for a man," says the prophet, " when he 
hath borne the yoke from his youth." 1 The Gospel pre- 
cepts become sweet and easy when inculcated in early life. 
But we know what a heavy, and even an intolerable, 
burden they appear to many to whom they are proposed 
in mature years. 

The instruction of children becomes a grateful task to 
the pastor when he reflects that he is casting the seed of 
faith in virgin and fruitful soil where there are no briars 
or weeds of doubt to choke it. The child is naturally 
innocent and artless, open and ingenuous, affectionate and 
confiding. He accepts without misgiving the truths that 
are taught him. The pastor has, therefore, an open and 
solid foundation on which to rear the edifice of faith and 
piety. He has no rubbish of false doctrines to clear away 
before he begins to erect the building. He has no obstacles 
to remove, no sophistries to encounter, no prejudices to 
overcome. In the words of St. Peter, his pupils " as new- 
born babes" receive "the rational milk without guile that 
thereby " they "may grow unto salvation." 2 They have 
no more suspicion of any poison of error in the food of 
knowledge given them than the infant that is nourished 
at the breasts of its mother. 

Another consoling thought to the apostle of youth is 
the consideration, that the child of to-dav is the man or 
the woman of to-morrow. In a dozen, or at most in a 
score of years, the scholars he has catechized, become 
husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and heads of 
households. The words of the Wise Man will be fulfilled 
in him : " Cast thy bread upon the running waters, for 
after a time thou shalt find it again." 3 He will have the 

lament, in. 27, »1. Pet. n 2 3 Eccl. xi. 1. 



308 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

supreme satisfaction of being surrounded in church by a 
well-instructed and edifying congregation whom he him- 
self has trained to virtue, and to whom he can say with 
St. Paul : When ye were " little ones in Christ I fed 
you with milk ; " l and now ye are " my joy and my 
crown. " 2 

But the shepherd of souls has not to wait for fifteen or 
twenty years to witness the salutary effects of his cate- 
chetical instructions on the adult portion of his flock. 
He already gains the heart of the parents through their 
offspring; for the children whom he teaches, react on 
their elders and become unconscious, though fruitful, 
missionaries in their respective families. They repeat at 
home the lessons they have been taught ; they speak of 
the loving kindness of their spiritual father ; they ex- 
hibit the premiums and other tokens of appreciation and 
affection they have received from him; and thus they 
become the instruments of heaven in attaching their 
parents more closely to their pastor, to their church, and 
to their God. 

When young Tobias had returned from his long 
journey, he related to his father the untiring solicitude 
of his guide, the Angel Raphael, disguised as a man. 
u Father," he said, " what wages shall we give him ? or 
what can be worthy of his benefits? He conducted me 
and brought me safe again. He delivered me from being 
devoured by the fish. Thee also he hath made to see the 
light of heaven ; and we are filled with all good things 
through him." 3 Such, also, is the sentiment, if not the 
language of filial and parental gratitude for the pastor's 
devotedness. He is not only a benediction to the child, 

1 1. Cor. in. 1,2 2 Phil. iv. 1. ' 6 Tobias xn. 2, 3, 



THE PRIEST AS A CATECHIST. 309 

but he often opens the eyes of the father himself to the 
light of practical faith. 

The establishment of a parochial school is, indeed, of 
supreme importance, and no parish is complete without 
it, as will be demonstrated in a subsequent chapter. But 
even where a parish school exists there will be usually 
found, as we know from experience, a certain proportion 
of children who will not frequent it. Some will be ab- 
sent through parental neglect, others will attend the 
public schools, and others will play the truant. 

But whether they attend a public or a private school, 
or no school at all, the heart of the priest should never 
be indifferent toward them, much less steeled against them. 
They should ever be the objects of his vigilant care in the 
catechetical instructions. Indeed, the more vicious and 
refractory they are, the more they have need of his tender 
forbearance and fatherly solicitude. Did not David love 
the unruly Absalom as well as the dutiful Solomon? 
When the former rebelled against his father, the king 
gave this order to Joab, the general of the army : " Save 
me the boy Absalom." And when he heard of his son's 
death, he wept and cried out : " My son Absalom, Absa- 
lom my son : who would grant me that I might die for 
thee, Absalom my son, my son Absalom." 1 

I can find no words strong enough to express my 
reprobation of the priest who would despise and ostracise 
these erring little ones. A pastor may be eloquent and 
effective in the pulpit; he may be zealous in the con- 
fessional ; he may be fervent at the altar ; but these good 
qualities will not atone for his neglect of the wayward 
youths of his flock. If it is a fault not to seek for them 

1 II. Kings xvm. 33. 



310 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

when they wander away ; if it is a reproach to be harsh 
and cold toward them when they do come; how shall we 
characterize the act of repelling them from the fold like 
infectious lambs when they do present themselves, and of 
treating them as Pariahs and outcasts from the circle of 
the Sunday School? The mission of the priest, like that 
of his Master, is to heal the wounded and to save that 
which was lost. With the Apostle he must say : u The 
Lord hath given me power unto edification and not unto 
destruction." 1 

Did not Christ send His servant "to compel the poor, 
the feeble, the blind, and the lame," that is, the frail and 
despised members of the flock, to come to His supper. 
Did He not Himself seek the lost lamb and leave the 
ninety-nine in the desert? Did He not rebuke His dis- 
ciples for their rudeness to the children that were pre- 
sented to Him? Did He not welcome back the Prodigal 
Son, and even go to meet him? We should remember, 
after all, that attendance at the parish day-school is a 
means, and not an end ; and if that means cannot be 
availed of in behalf of all the children, every other 
method that paternal instincts will suggest, should be 
employed in bringing those less favored ones to the 
knowledge of Christ. 

Apart from the signal blessings which the pastor con- 
fers on children by his catechetical instructions, he is at 
the same time deriving great benefit for himself by im- 
proving and enriching his mind. The logical arrange- 
ment and sequence of subjects, the clearness of ideas and 
accuracy of statement, the familiarity of style and felicity 
of illustrations which mark his lessons to the young, serve 

1 II. Cor. xm. 10. 



THE PRIEST AS A CATECHIST. 311 

to develop and strengthen in himself habits of order and 
precision of thought which are of incalculable benefit to 
him in the pulpit. In addressing adults, his language 
will be unconsciously characterized by a directness and 
simplicity of expression and practical sense that will not 
fail to interest and edify the congregation. He will be 
as much at home and at ease with them as he was with 
the junior members. 

Bishop Dupanloup informed a friend of mine that what- 
ever success he had attained as a preacher and a writer, 
was chiefly due to his long experience as a catechist. 

It is worthy of note, also, that many of the seminarians 
educated by the Sulpicians in Paris, who afterward ac- 
quired distinction in the ranks of the French hierarchy, 
had been catechists in the church of St. Sulpice while 
pursuing their studies in the seminary. 

A word in conclusion may be added on the manner 
of instructing children. The successful compilation of a 
catechism is acknowledged to be a most arduous task. 
The Rev. Dr. McCaffrey, a former President of Mount 
St. Mary's College, Emmittsburg, one of the most ac- 
complished scholars of his day, spent several years in 
writing a catechism ; and yet, while it is justly admired 
by many able critics, it failed to receive the commenda- 
tion of the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore, on ac- 
count of its alleged obscurity in certain passages. He 
was charged with the fault to which Horace refers : 

" Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio." 

But if it is difficult to write a good catechism, it is not 
an easy work to teach it well. 



312 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

By a cheerful and benevolent disposition, the pastor 
will put his young pupils at their ease; he will gain their 
affection and confidence, and make them more attentive 
to his instructions. 

The mind of a child is undeveloped, and his capacity 
for acquiring knowledge limited. He is not yet accus- 
tomed to abstract reasoning, and he can grasp but one 
subject at a time. The instructions, therefore, will be 
more profitable if they are imparted in the simplest and the 
most familiar language. One truth should be explained 
under different forms before another is introduced. The 
instructions, also, should be reasonably short • otherwise 
the child may forget at the end what was said in the begin- 
ning of the discourse. Even to adults, long sermons are 
usually distasteful ; but to children, they are positively 
oppressive, because they overload the mind with more 
intellectual food than can be digested and assimilated. 

As the imagination of children is strong and vivid, an 
instruction conveyed in the form of imagery is always 
most grateful to them. Their attention is aroused by the 
picture, and, while the image remains stamped on their 
memory, it is inseparably associated in their mind with 
the religious truth, the moral sentiment, or the sacra- 
mental rite which it is intended to embellish. 

The mysteries of religion are, therefore, best commu- 
nicated to the youthful mind through the medium of a 
parable, an anecdote, an historical fact, or an incident of 
daily life. These narratives awaken the interest of the 
child; they are listened to with pleasure, and remembered 
without much effort. 

The Holy Scripture is an inexhaustible source from 
which the zealous catechist can draw his illustrations. 



THE PRIEST AS A CATECHIST. 313 

He will find in its pages copious examples to enforce 
every truth he conveys, every virtue he enjoins, and 
every vice he has to condemn. 

The other volume that I should particularly recom- 
mend to priests, is the great Book of Nature written 
by the hand of God Himself, and which is ever open and 
intelligible to all. It is the first book unfolded to the 
admiring gaze of the child, and its ever-varying pictures 
are contemplated by him with renewed awe and delight. 
Every object in nature is calculated to illustrate some 
attribute of the Divinity, for, "the heavens show forth 
the glory of God and the firmament announces the work 
of His hands." 

The splendor of the sun, the countless multitude of the 
stars, the illimitable expanse of the firmament, the beauty 
of the landscape, the ever-flowing river, the boundless 
ocean, will serve as object-lessons typifying and vividly 
portraying the majesty, the omnipresence, and the om- 
niscience of God, His almighty power and immensity, the 
glory of heaven, the fleetness of time, and the never-end- 
ing duration of eternity. In fact, every striking work 
of creation is an illuminated manuscript from which the 
child can learn " to look through nature up to nature's 
God." 



CHAPTER XXYI. 
The Home and the Sunday School. 

THERE are three great Schools of Christian Doctrine 
for youth, namely, the Home, the Sunday School, 
and the Parish Day -School. They are the fruitful nurs- 
eries of the Lord's Vineyard. The efficacy of these schools 
largely depends on the zeal and pastoral vigilance of the 
spiritual shepherd. Under the influence of his careful super- 
vision and exhortations, they become powerful auxiliaries 
in the growth of Christian faith; whereas without these 
accessories, his sermons in the temple of God, how eloquent 
and persuasive soever they may be, will commonly fail to 
produce results commensurate with the labor expended. 

A congregation of men and women who have drunk in 
early life at these three fountains of religious science, is 
like a well-ploughed field which is prepared to receive the 
seed of God's word; while an audience bereft of these 
advantages, is like an arid and uncultivated soil covered 
with weeds and briers. It is slow to catch the inspira- 
tion, and to feel the warmth of the preacher's words, be- 
cause its religious training lias not been developed. 

I. 

The Home. 

The home is the primeval novitiate. Its beneficent 
agency is the most far-reaching and enduring of all schools. 
314 



THE HOME AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 315 

The parental fireside was the only seminary which the 
Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob frequented, and in 
which they received and transmitted, in turn, the knowl- 
edge and worship of Jehovah. 

The pious Christian home is the best and most hallowed 
of all academies, and the mother is the oldest and the most 
cherished of all teachers. The devout Christian mother 
is called to be an apostle. The family circle is her field 
of labor; the members of the household are the souls com- 
mitted to her ministry. 

No teacher can adequately supply the place of the 
mother. No one has the same hold that she maintains 
on the intellect and affections of her child. She is not 
only an authority whose right to rule is never questioned, 
but also an oracle that is implicitly believed. 

The words and example of a parent, especially of a 
mother, exert a life-long influence on the child. The seed 
of righteousness, sown in the youthful mind by the mater- 
nal hand, usually bears abundant fruit. The salutary les- 
sons the mother has taught, are seldom effaced from the 
memory. They are engraven on the heart in luminous 
characters, and the sacred image of the mother herself 
stands before us silently, but eloquently, pleading the 
cause of God. The tablet of the soul, like a palimpsest, 
may afterward receive impressions that will hide from 
view the original maternal characters written upon it, but 
the waters of compunction, and the searching rays of di- 
vine grace, will bring them to light again. 

There is no exaggeration in saying that the hope of 
America is in the rising generation, and the hope of the 
rising generation is in its Christian mothers. The indi- 
vidual and national character may be traced to the train- 



316 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

ing imparted under the domestic roof, and its beneficial 
or baneful influence may be gauged by the religious and 
moral standard of the family circle. 

" It is true, indeed," says the Count de Maistre, "that 
women have written no Iliad, nor Jerusalem Delivered, 
nor Hamlet, nor Paradise Lost. They have designed no 
church like St. Peter's Basilica, composed no Messiah, 
carved no Apollo Belvidere, painted no Last Judgment 
They have invented neither algebra, nor telescope, nor 
steam engine ; but they have done something far greater 
and better than all this, for it is at their knees that up- 
right and virtuous men and women have been trained, — 
the most excellent productions of the world." 

It is worthy of note that those men and women who 
have shed lustre on the world by their moral or civil 
virtues, have been usually the fruit of an exemplary 
parentage. Samuel and Tobias, the seven Machabean 
brothers, John the Baptist, and Timothy, were born of 
parents distinguished for their virtues. The Scripture 
pays a beautiful tribute to the father and mother of 
Susanna, declaring that they were " just," and " had 
instructed their daughter according to the law of Moses." 

The patience and prayers, the example and instructions 
of Monica rescued her son Augustine from the thorny path 
of sin and error, and led him to the sublime heights of 
faith and sanctity. She exercised over his strong and 
turbulent nature a sway that no earthly teacher could 
have wielded. 

Anthusa, the mother of St. John Chrysostom, became 
a widow at the age of twenty years. She divided her 
time between the care of her family and her exercises of 
devotion. She instilled into her son from the first dawn 



THE HOME AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 317 

of reason, the most exalted maxims of Christian piety. 
His future teacher, a celebrated pagan sophist, was so pro- 
foundly impressed with the influence exerted on Chrysos- 
tom by his mother, that he exclaimed : " What wonderful 
women the Christians possess ! " 

St. Basil refers with admiration and gratitude to his 
childhood days, spent under the guidance of his excellent 
parents, and saintly grandmother. The pure and invigor- 
ating atmosphere he then breathed, the order and tran- 
quillity that reigned in the household, and the lessons of 
heavenly wisdom he imbibed, were a potent antidote 
against the moral and intellectual poison of the schools 
of Athens which he afterward frequented. They moulded 
the character and conduct of his whole life. 

The parents of St. Gregory Nazianzen are both honored 
in the Calendar of the Church. Gregory profited as much 
as did his friend Basil, by the hallowed environments in 
which his youthful days were spent, and by the living 
models of virtue he daily contemplated. 

Louis IX., King of France, is largely indebted for his 
magnanimity as a ruler, and for his virtues as a saint, to 
his mother Blanche. Though occupied during the mi- 
nority of her son with the affairs of state, she had time 
to devote to the religious instruction of her child. " I 
love you tenderly, my son," she said to him, " but sooner 
would I behold you a corpse at my feet, than that you 
should tarnish your soul by any grievous transgression." 
If this queen could pay so much attention to her son's edu- 
cation, notwithstanding her engrossing cares in the admin- 
istration of public affairs, surely there are many mothers 
who cannot excuse themselves on the plea of want of time, 
from discharging a similar duty to their offspring. 



318 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

George Washington, the Father of his Country, ex- 
hibited in an eminent degree during his public life the 
natural virtues of heroic courage, love of truth, magna- 
nimity, pure patriotism, and a rare disinterestedness. He 
glories in confessing that he was indebted in a large 
measure for these traits of character to the assiduous vigi- 
lance and methodical habits, to the wholesome instructions 
and example of his excellent mother. 

John Randolph, of Roanoke, is quoted as having once 
remarked : " I should have been an atheist, if it had not 
been for one recollection ; and that was, the memory of 
the time when my departed mother used to take my little 
hands in hers, and cause me on my knees to say, ' Our 
Father who art in heaven/ " 

Anne Lemarchand des Noyers, the mother of Mon- 
seigueur De Cheverus, first Bishop of Boston, and after- 
ward Cardinal Archbishop of Bordeaux, was one oi those 
rare women who thoroughly understood the education of 
children. Sedulous in inspiring her offspring by example 
as well as by precept with the fear of God, the habit of 
prayer, the love of their neighbors, and the admiration of 
all that is good, generous, and virtuous, she equally well 
knew how to make herself feared and beloved. She never 
indulged in those severe reprimands which sour the dis- 
position, instead of correcting it, still less in those corporal 
chastisements which compel outward obedience without 
changing the heart. 1 

There is no name better known and more revered in 
North Carolina than that of Judge Gaston. He succeeded 
in eliminating from the new State Constitution, framed in 

1 The Life of Cardinal De Cheverus, by Rev. J. H. Doubourg. 



THE HOME AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 319 

1835, the clause excluding Catholics from the privilege of 
holding public office. Like Xoemi in the land of Moab, 
Mrs. Gaston with her family lived alone among a people 
who were strangers to the faith of her fathers. Judge 
Gaston was always fond of referring to his pious Christian 
mother, to whom under God he attributed not only the 
heritage of his faith, but also those sterling moral and 
civic virtues which had endeared him to his fellow-citi- 
zens 

Chief Justice Taney pays this beautiful tribute to his 
mother: "She was pious, gentle, and affectionate, retiring 
and domestic in her habits. I never in my life heard her 
say an unkind word to any of her children, nor speak ill 
of any one. I remember and feel the effect of her teach- 
ing to this day." 

Would to God that this eulogy could be pronounced on 
all American Christian mothers ! If they were faithful to 
their sacred trust, there would be less need in our day of 
insisting on religious education in the schools, and the per- 
plexing problem that agitates our country would be prac- 
tically solved. 

I need not say that adequate home-training involves 
much more than the lessons in Christian Doctrine which 
are to be taught to the children. The home should be 
pervaded by a religious atmosphere. It should be a temple 
of domestic peace, sobriety, conjugal love, parental affec- 
tion, and solicitude. Above all, it should be a sanctuary 
of family prayer. Lex orandi, lex credendi. Prayer is 
the most secure guardian of Christian faith. The blight 
of infidelity never falls on a household that assembles for 
daily communion with God; for "the Author and Fin- 
isher of our faith " has declared : " Where two or three 



320 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst 
of them." 

The more earnest and successful the pastor is in im- 
pressing on parents the duty of religious training in the 
family, the more easy, more grateful, and more efficient 
will be his ministerial labors; for he will find in the heads 
of families most valuable helps to promote the reign of 
sound morals and healthy piety throughout the parish. 

II. 

The Sunday School. 

The Sunday School is another helpful agency for incul- 
cating the elements of Christian Doctrine. The catechism 
classes, taught by zealous young men and women of the 
parish under the pastor's supervision, are productive of 
a two-fold advantage: they benefit not only the children, 
but also the teachers themselves. 

The Sunday School invests the Lord's-Day with a 
sacred character distinct from other days of the week, by 
associating in the children's mind the Christian Sabbath 
with the religious exercises which form the subject of 
their studies. It also secures their more faithful and 
regular attendance at the celebration of the Mass, which 
usually precedes or immediately follows the catechetical 
exercises. 

The instructions imparted to the pupils, are better 
adapted to their undeveloped intelligence than the sermon 
preached to the congregation during divine service. 

They are taught the principles of Christian faith and 
morals in their simplest form, and they learn, besides, to 
chant the popular sacred hymns and canticles of the Church. 



THE HOME AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 321 

Though some of the teachers may be only imperfectly 
qualified for their task, the children under their guidance 
can, at least, learn by heart and retain without much effort 
the answers to the questions proposed in the Catechism ; 
and even though they may not comprehend as yet the full 
meaning of the words they express, their knowledge im- 
perceptibly grows in proportion as their mind becomes 
matured and developed. 

The Sunday-School exercise is, also, of great utility to 
the teachers themselves. They are withdrawn from the 
danger of dissipation and profane amusements on the 
Lord's-Day ; they are confirmed in the science of Chris- 
tian Doctrine, because one of the best methods for learning 
a thing, is to teach it ; they have a grateful sense of the 
confidence reposed in them, and of the mission assigned 
them; they become active and useful subordinate helpers 
of the pastor in the work of the ministry, and are inspired 
with greater zeal for the interests of religion. The pastor 
can rely on the ready and cheerful cooperation of the Sun- 
day-School teachers for the promotion of any good work 
he may inaugurate in the parish. 



21 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
Parish Schools. 

ONE of the most effective instruments for the expan- 
sion and perpetuity of the religion of Christ, is the 
Catholic day-school. It was a favorite saying of Arch- 
bishop Bayley, that no parish is fully equipped without a 
parochial school. 

Christian education is as essential to the development 
and permanence of Christian life as pure air and food are 
for the health and growth of the physical man. 

If the generations yet unborn are to be Christian, they 
will be indebted for their faith not to natural propagation 
and inheritance, but to the religious instruction which they 
will severally receive. Christianity is not transmitted like 
physical life from father to son. " Faith cometh by hear- 
ing," not by generation. A father may have the sturdy 
belief of a Sir Thomas More, or of a Montalembert, and 
yet, if his son grows up under adverse influences, he may 
be utterly alien, if not even hostile, to his father's religious 
convictions. 

Now, the question arises, How is the child to be in- 
structed in the tenets of his religion? How is the seed 
of Christianity to be implanted in his breast? How is 
the heritage of faith to be transmitted? 

First, indeed, by his parents, who are his divinely- 
appointed teachers, as I have said. But are there not 
322 



PARISH SCHOOLS. 323 

many parents who have not the capacity or ability to 
instruct their children? Are there not many others who 
have not the time at their disposal ? And are there not 
still more who lack the inclination and disposition to 
impart the principles of Christian knowledge to their 
offspring ? 

Secondly, by the Sunday School. The Sunday School 
indeed, as has been observed, is productive of excellent 
results, and is a most salutary aid to Christian home- 
training ; but it is hardly adequate to satisfy the spiritual 
needs of youth, or to counteract the downward and materi- 
alizing tendencies of every-day life. 

Thirdly, Christian traditions, Christian sentiment, and 
public opinion. Christian laws and literature now domi- 
nant among us, may be appealed to as another factor for 
ingrafting the religion of Christ on the youth of the 
country. But this public sentiment derives its strength 
and vitality from the faith of the individual. The relig- 
ious sentiment of the nation is the reflex of the faith of 
the units that compose it. The stream does not rise above 
its source. The force of traditional Christianity and of 
sound literature may be neutralized by the anti-Christian 
ideas and opinions, and the demoralizing literature that 
confront our youth at every step. 

I need not refer to our system of public schools as an 
element for the diffusion of Christian knowledge, as they 
do not even profess to include religious doctrines in their 
curriculum of studies. 

It is but just to say that, if Christian doctrine is not 
embraced in the course of public-school studies, its absence 
is not due to any hostility toward the Catholic religion 
on the part of the State or municipal authorities ; nor does 



324 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

it imply a subserviency to any anti-religious public senti- 
ment. But in view of the conflicting religious convictions 
of the pupils, the introduction of positive dogmatic teach- 
ing would be beset with difficulties not easy to surmount. 

Let us hope that the American people, so deeply imbued 
with reverence for Christian revelation, so conspicuous for 
justice and fair play, so resourceful in solving perplexing 
social and political problems, will discover some practical 
method for reconciling the general diffusion of elementary 
education with a proper regard for the sacred rights of 
conscience. 

If, then, parental instruction, the Sunday School, Chris- 
tian traditions, and literature leave a void to be filled, and 
are found from experience to be usually insufficient for 
transmitting to youth the blessing of Catholic faith, we 
are forced to the conclusion that, if we desire to make our 
children partakers of the inestimable heritage of divine 
truth, we must avail ourselves of the day school, where 
secular science is combined with sacred instruction, and 
where they will daily inhale a healthy religious and moral 
atmosphere. 

The best criterion for estimating the value of a Catholic 
school, is to compare the religious progress of two parishes 
some years after their formation. Let us suppose that 
both parishes had, at the time of their foundation, equal 
advantages as to the wealth and number of their members, 
and in all other respects, with this single exception, that 
one was furnished with a school while the other had none. 
At the expiration of a decade of years, it will very proba- 
bly be found that the parish destitute of a Catholic school 
has been marked by a very slow growth, or has barely 
held its own, or in some instances, notwithstanding the 



PARISH SCHOOLS. 325 

earnest efforts of the Rector, may even have retrograded. 
The ranks in the house of God that were depleted by the 
death of parents, have been but partially filled up by their 
children. 

On the other hand, the parish that was blessed with a 
Catholic school, beholds springing up a new generation 
well-grounded in the principles of religion and virtue, do- 
cile and obedient to the law of God and the teachings of 
the Church, the hope and joy of the minister of Christ. 

Of course, there are many happy exceptions to the un- 
favorable results arising from the absence of a Catholic 
day-school. I know several country parishes too small 
or too poor to sustain a parochial school, which, never- 
theless, exhibit a healthy and steady growth by reason not 
only of the natural increase, but also of numerous conver- 
sions, which far more than compensate for the leakage 
occasioned by defections or religious indifference. 

In a subsequent chapter, I shall speak of the zeal which 
should be exercised in instructing and receiving converts. 
But it is evident, that the fruit derived from adult acces- 
sions to the Church, can bear no proportion to the normal 
influence of the school. 

The number of converts added to the fold compared 
with the army of youthful confessors of the faith, growing 
in spiritual life, and equipped with the panoply of religion 
in the school, is proportionately as small as were the ears 
of corn gleaned by Ruth in comparison with the harvest 
gathered by the reapers before she entered the field. 

It is gratifying to see a statesman so profound, an in- 
tellect so gifted, a witness so disinterested, an American 
so typical as Daniel Webster insisting on the importance 
of associating religious with secular knowledge in juvenile 



326 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

training. It is true, that, in the speech to which I shall 
refer, he is alluding to a boarding-school ; but it is mani- 
fest, that the principles he lays down, can be applied with 
almost equal force to a day-school. 

In the celebrated Girard will-case, Mr. Webster de- 
nounces with his usual power and eloquence the provi- 
sions of the will which excluded Christian ministers and 
religious instructions from the institution founded by 
Girard. The orator declares that it is cruel and heart- 
less to rob children of the blessings of religion, more 
precious than life ; that there can be no morality without 
religion, and no religion without the basis of doctrinal 
truths or tenets ; that a school for the instruction of the 
young which sedulously omits Christian science, is a vio- 
lation of Christian charity ; that the sin is aggravated 
since this advantage is withheld from them at a period 
of life in which they are so susceptible of impressions that 
are most lasting; and that a legacy bequeathed under such 
terms, would prove a curse instead of a blessing. 

He proceeds to say : " The earliest and the most urgent 
intellectual want of human nature, is the knowledge of its 
origin, its duty, and its destiny. ' Whence am I, what 
am I, and what is before me?' This is the cry of the 
human soul so soon as it raises its contemplation above 
visible, material things. . . . And that question nothing 
but God and the religion of God can solve. Religion 
does solve it, and teaches every man that he is to live 
again, and that the duties of this life have reference to the 
life which is to come. And hence, since the introduction 
of Christianity, it has been the duty, as it has been the 
effort of the great and the good, to sanctify human knowl- 
edge, to bring it to the fount, and to baptize learning unto 



PARISH SCHOOLS. 327 

Christianity, to gather up all its productions, its earliest 
and its latest, its blossoms and its fruits, and lay them all 
upon the altar of religion and virtue." 

Much has been written regarding the loss of faith in 
this country during the present century. Some writers, 
no doubt, have exaggerated the number of souls that, in 
different parts of the country, have drifted away from the 
religious moorings of their fathers. 

Without attempting to give an estimate of the leakage, 
two facts must be conceded : 1°, that the loss is appalling 
to all those who value the precious gift of Catholic belief; 
2°, that the greatest injury has resulted from the neglect 
of early Christian education. Archbishop Kenrick, of 
Baltimore, a prelate never suspected of exaggeration, once 
remarked in my presence that, as a result of his personal 
experience and observation, hundreds, nay thousands had 
been bereft of their sacred heritage, because their youthful 
training had been overlooked. They were sent to schools 
in which their religion was either studiously ignored or 
openly assailed. They had neither the knowledge to re- 
fute the misstatements of their opponents, nor the courage 
to resist their shafts of ridicule, — the most overwhelming 
of all arguments to sensitive youth. The result was, that 
they abandoned their faith in the Christian religion alto- 
gether, or they passively conformed to the prevailing sect 
of their environment. 

Is the child that has been trained in all branches of 
science save that of the knowledge of his Maker and his 
own eternal destiny, the only one to be held responsible 
in after life for the acts that infringe the laws both of God 
and of man ? Can we expect generations reared without 
religion, without even the first notions of God and their 



328 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

own soul, to become men and women fitted to take their 
place in later years as honorable and useful members of 
society ? Such was the thought of that lawyer who, when 
his youthful client was about to be sentenced for some 
crime, addressed the judge and jury in scathing words, 
summoning them before the bar of Divine justice for 
condemning one from whom the godless education of the 
day had withheld the clear and intelligent appreciation of 
right and wrong. — "You banish God and His Command- 
ments from the schoolroom," he cried, " you let the boy 
grow up as he will, and when, as the outcome of such an 
education, he violates the laws of the land, you arraign 
him for his crime, you find him guilty, and you condemn 
him to punishment. Is this right? Is this just?" — 
Then raising his hand toward heaven, he exclaimed : 
u God of justice, I adjure Thee, by the Blood of Jesus 
Christ, to judge the injustice of these unreasoning and 
unjust men !" 

I am not unmindful of the fact, that the maintenance 
of a Catholic school involves a great burden on a congre- 
gation, and that its weight is felt to be all the more irksome 
and oppressive, since our Catholic citizens, besides volun- 
tarily bearing the expense of a parish school, are taxed for 
the support of the public system of education. 

But the essence of Christianity consists in a spirit of 
self-sacrifice. As we are not called on, like the Apostles 
and our forefathers in the faith, to surrender our life, we 
should be willing to make at least some renunciation of 
our ^oods for conscience' sake. The more generous we are 
in the cause of evangelical truth, the more we will appre- 
ciate and love it ; while we ordinarily set small value on 
what costs us little or nothing. 



PARISH SCHOOLS. 329 

Liberality has been the distinguishing trait of those 
who are of the household of the faith, from the primitive 
Christians who laid the price of their goods at the feet of 
the Apostles, to their medieval brethren who erected those 
temples of worship that are the admiration of posterity. 
And the faithful of our day will not be less open-handed 
in building and sustaining temples of Christian knowledge 
than were their fathers in constructing and adorning houses 
of prayer. 

It may also be objected that the State, with the vast 
resources at its disposal, can impart a more thorough 
course of studies than a school supported by private con- 
tributions, is able to supply. It should be the aim of the 
zealous minister of God to see that the house of learning 
under his supervision, if inferior to the public schools in 
the cost and elegance of its material structure, will compare 
favorably with them, at least in the more essential element 
of literary and scientific merit. 

I am acquainted with several parish schools which 
equal, if they do not excel in this particular, the best 
educational institutions sustained by public patronage. 
What they lack in extension, they gain in condensation. 

It is to be hoped that ere long, school sinking-funds 
from the surplus revenues of the church, will be estab- 
lished in several of the city parishes. This step would 
inaugurate a movement tending to make Catholic educa- 
tion free, and would preclude or diminish the necessity of 
appeals to the congregation. The healthy progress of a 
parish will be promoted wherever this wished-for result 
can be attained. 

It is almost needless to say that our colleges and acad- 
emies, under the guidance of men and women who conse- 



330 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

crate their lives to higher Christian education, should be 
warmly encouraged and patronized by the Catholic laity. 

The plea of poverty, often alleged by many parents for 
withholding their children from the day-school, can sel- 
dom exist in reference to our boarding-schools, which are 
usually frequented by the sons and daughters of parents 
in affluent or easy circumstances. 

As it is gratifying to a man who invests his money in 
enterprises where the principal and interest are secure, so 
is it a supreme consolation to a father when he has the 
undoubted assurance that the cherished heirs of his name 
and fortune will return to him from the collegiate insti- 
tution to which he consigned them, enriched with intel- 
lectual knowledge, and confirmed in the principles of 
Christian faith. 

The education of our American youth would be mani- 
festly incomplete, if lessons on the civic virtue of patriot- 
ism were not inculcated. The divine Founder of Christi- 
anity has ennobled and sanctified loyalty to country by 
the influence of His example, and the force of His teach- 
ing. In these memorable words : " Render to Usesar the 
things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are 
God's/' He solemnly proclaims to all future generations 
that, after God, our country should hold the strongest 
place in our affections. 

If the Apostles and the primitive Christians had so 
much respect for the civil magistrates, in whose selection 
they had no voice; if they so conscientiously observed the 
laws of the Roman Empire, which often inflicted on them 
odious pains and disabilities; — how much more reverence 
should the juvenile American be taught to entertain for 
our civil rulers, in whose election he is actively to partici- 



PARISH SCHOOLS. 331 

pate; and with what alacrity he should fulfil the laws, 
which are framed solely for his peace and protection, and 
for the welfare of the commonwealth ! 

Familiar lessons should be incorporated into our text- 
books, inculcating reverence for our political institutions, 
and embodying an elementary knowledge of our system 
oi government together with the respective functions of its 
legislative, judicial, and executive departments, the con- 
ditions required for American citizenship, and the duties 
and rights of the citizen. These lessons should, of course, 
give a conspicuous place to the memorable events of which 
our country has been the theatre, and which serve as land- 
marks in her onward progress. They should include a 
brief sketch of the nation's heroes, statesmen, and patriots, 
whose martial deeds and civic virtues the rising genera- 
tion will be taught to emulate. 

The Hebrew people, at the special command of Almighty 
God. commemorated by an annual festival, their liberation 
from the bondage of Pharaoh and their entrance into the 
Promisee Land. The history of their redemption from 
captivity was solemnly recounted, and sacred hymns and 
psalm? were sung, giving praise to the Lord for their 
providential deliverance. 

Among nearly all civilized people; there are certain 
day? set apart to recall some memorable events in their 
nation's history, and to pay homage to the patriots who 
figured in them. 

Our American youth, in like manner, should be taught 
to cherish and perpetuate our national festivals. The 
meaning of each holiday should be brought home to them, 
so that they may be able to give a rational account of the 
political faith that is in them. 



332 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

The public perusal iu the schoolroom at stated times, 
of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of 
the United States, — an exercise that would occupy scarcely 
twenty minutes — would be a most profitable and instruc- 
tive task for the pupils. It would contribute to instil into 
their minds a strong and intelligent attachment to our 
system of government, while the chanting of our national 
songs on appropriate occasions, would nourish in them a 
healthy enthusiasm and a patriotic devotedness to their 
country. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Instruction and Reception of Converts. 

THE instruction of converts and their reception into 
the Church, is a sacred duty, which is specially 
dear to the heart of every zealous priest. Catholicity is 
one of the notes of the Church, — a title to which she 
would have no claim, if she did not aim at bringing all 
nations and peoples into her fold. 

The Catholic Church is not only conservative by reason 
of her steady and consistent course ; she is also aggressive, 
progressive, and expansive in her career by reason of her 
indefatigable activity and her missionary spirit. Her 
family is propagated by accessions from without, as well 
as by accretions from within. Her constant effort is not 
only to preserve and cultivate the fields already in her 
possession, but also to enlarge her bounds and to acquire 
new territory. Her motto is onward. She is militant not 
merely in the sense that she has to endure assaults and 
persecutions, but also because her mission is to gain con- 
quests not indeed with the material sword, but with " the 
sword of the Spirit which is the word of God." Like the 
Apostle, she becomes all to all men that she may gain all 
to Christ. 

The propagandist feature of Christianity in contrast 
with the Jewish and Mohammedan religion is clearly 
sanctioned and imperatively demanded by the commission 

333 



334 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of Christ to His disciples : " Going, therefore," He says, 
" teach ye all nations." l " Go ye into the whole world, 
and preach the Gospel to every creature." 2 "You shall 
be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and 
Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth." 3 
"Other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also 
I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, aud there 
shall be one fold and one Shepherd." 4 

It is evident from all these texts, that the Apostles were 
charged to preach the Gospel to nations that were as yet 
strangers to the religion of Christ. They were certainly 
aggressive. As soon as they left the Cenacle on Pentecost 
day, they were found preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem 
to Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, to inhabitants of Meso- 
potamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, Pam- 
phylia, and Egypt, to Cretes and Arabians. Nor did 
they restrict their labors to Jewish proselytes. They 
parcelled out the Roman Empire among themselves, and 
their great ambition was to gain new converts among 
people of every race and tongue and creed. If they had 
been instructed to confine their ministry to the Jews, what 
would have become of us? We should be groping to-day 
in the darkness of Paganism ; we should be " strangers 
to the covenants having no hope of the promise, and with- 
out God in this world." 5 

But with all their zeal, it is manifest that the Apostles 
did not personally evangelize all the nations of the earth. 
They had neither the time nor the capacity to accomplish 
so formidable a task during their short span of life, and a 
large portion of the globe remained undiscovered for cen- 

1 Matt xxviii. 19. 3 Act* i. 8. 5 Eph. II. 12. 

"Mark xvi. 15. 4 John x. 10. 



INSTRUCTION AND RECEPTION OF CONVERTS. 335 

turies after their death. Hence, the commission of Christ 
to His Apostles applies to the ministry of the nineteenth 
century as well as to them, and the duty devolves upon us 
to continue the work which they began, of bringing the 
light of faith to those outside the pale of the Christian fold. 

The Church displays to-day the same indomitable 
energy that marked her career in the early days of 
Christianity, when Patrick preached in Ireland, Augus- 
tine in England, and Boniface in Germany. She mani- 
fests her apostolic zeal by sending missionaries to China, 
Japan, Corea, to Africa and Oceania, and, in fact, to all 
parts of the habitable globe. It has been remarked that, 
when the English have an eye on a new territory, with 
the view of acquiring possession of it, they first send their 
merchants and then their army, while the French first 
send their army, which is only sometimes followed by the 
merchants. But the Catholic missionary is usually found 
to be in advance of both the soldier and the trader. The 
rude tog chapel has been planted on the soil before the 
erection of the custom-house or the military fort. *^ 

Archbishop Osouf, of Tokio, Japan, while on a visit to\ 
this country, was asked by a priest how many Catholics 
were in his diocese. " Five thousand," he answered. 
" How many priests?" "Thirty," was the answer. 
" Well," rejoined his questioner, " your clergy must have 
little to do." " O but you must remember," remarked 
the archbishop, " that the diocese includes nineteen mil 
lions of Pagans, who have souls to save." 

There are fifty-five millions of our separated brethren 
in the United States, who have a claim on our charity 
and zeal, and whom we should endeavor to bring to a full 
participation in the heritage of the Lord. Several years 



; 



THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

ago a / young priest said to m e : "I am not concerned 
bout making converts . lam called only to the sheep of\ 
the house of Israel." How different were che sentiments 
- of the Apostle of the Gentiles, who said: U I wished 
myself to be an anathema from Christ for my brethren, 
who are my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are 
. Israelites, to whom belongeth the adoption of children, 
s and the glory, and the covenant, and the giving of the 
law, and the service of God, and the promises : whose 
are the fathers, and of whom is Christ according to the 
flesh, who is over all things, God blessed forever. Amen. 9 l 
When King Agrippa said to him : " In a little thou per- 
suadest me to become a Christian/' how noble and self- 
sacrificing was his reply : " I would to God, that both in 
a little and in much, not only thou, but also all that hear 
me this day, should become such as I also am, except these 
chains" 2 If the Apostle had so much concern for the 
conversion of his Jewish kinsmen, surely w T e should mani- 
fest not less interest in our Protestant American brethren, 
who are bound to us by national, social, commercial, and 
often even by family ties. 

The question naturally suggests itself here : How are we 
to attract the attention of our dissenting brethren ? how 
are we to gain a hearing from them ? how are we to "com- 
pel them to enter ? " A priest residing in a city or town 
can reach many of them by instituting in his church a 
course of sermons adapted to mixed congregations. A 
suitable time for such a series of discourses would be 
during the seasons of Advent and Lent, or on the occasion 
of a mission. Some weeks beforehand, these sermons 
might be announced in the church, and even in the local 

1 Rom. ix. 3-5. 'Acts xxvi. 28, 29. 



INSTRUCTION AND RECEPTION OF CONVERTS. 337 

papers ; and the faithful might be exhorted to influence 
some of their non-Catholic friends to attend the services. 
The interest in the sermons would be enhanced if the 
pastor were to invite a clergyman of tact and marked 
ability to aid him in delivering them. These discourses 
could be supplemented by the judicious distribution of 
catechisms of Christian doctrine, books, and tracts explan- 
atory of the Catholic religion. 

Many other opportunities for presenting some leading 
truths of Catholic faith to our dissenting neighbors, may 
be judiciously employed to subserve the same end, among 
others, a marriage ceremony, which is not unfrequently 
attended by some non-Catholics. When uniting a couple 
in the bonds of matrimony, the pastor may very profitably 
make the unity, the sanctity, and the indissolubility of the 
marriage tie the subject of his discourse. He will have 
no difficulty in persuading his hearers, whatever may be 
their religious belief, that this irrevocable bond is indis- 
pensable for maintaining the peace and happiness of the 
married couple, the integrity and cohesion of family life, 
and the stability and perpetuity of society itself. They 
will have the candor to admit that both the civil authori- 
ties, and the combined influence of the christian organiza- 
tions outside the Catholic Church have been yielding up 
one outpost of defence after another until the very foun- 
dations of this divine Institution are threatened with being 
undermined. Marriage, indeed, has come to be regarded 
by a vast multitude as a virtual compact at will, while 
the Catholic Church alone has been the consistent and 
uncompromising vindicator of the principles of Christian 
wedlock so clearly set forth by Christ in the Gospels and 
in the Epistles of St. Paul. 
22 



338 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

If conversions do not usually occur after a marriage 
exhortation, at least the priest becomes better known and 
more esteemed by his Protestant neighbors. Prejudices 
and animosities are weakened, or disappear to give way 
to an honest sentiment of admiration for a religion which 
condemns divorce and contends for the peace and happi- 
ness of the domestic kingdom. 

Apart from the extraordinary occasion of a course of 
sermons, it would, indeed, be a great auxiliary to the 
diffusion of Christian knowledge, if there were attached 
to each church a circulating library of well-selected books, 
for the use of the faithful and of others who might be 
disposed to seek information respecting the tenets of the 
Catholic religion. 

Numerous examples might be given to illustrate the 
extraordinary conversions wrought by the distribution of 
books of instruction. The following incident was related 
by Archbishop Hughes in 1840. In the spring of 1836, 
on a bleak night, in the little village of Pompey Hill, 
N. Y., the family of Colonel Dodge were asked for a 
night's lodging by a travelling pedler. It was readily 
granted by the hospitable family. In the course of the 
evening, they discovered that they were entertaining a 
Catholic. For a moment, Mrs. Dodge thought of request- 
ing him to withdraw, for prejudices in those days were 
very strong against the members of the ancient Church. 
But kindness prevailed over her repugnance. In the 
morning, before the stranger left, he gave Mrs. Dodge, as 
an expression of his gratitude, a copy of Milner's End of 
Controversy, After some hesitation, she and her husband 
read it, and for the first time in their life, they heard the 
true statement of the Catholic doctrine. They sent after- 



INSTRUCTION AND RECEPTION OF CONVERTS. 339 

ward to New York for other Catholic books, which 
brought conviction to their mind. They had never met a 
Catholic priest, till they presented themselves in Utica for 
Baptism, in the month of December, 1836. Colonel Dodge 
was a deacon of the Presbyterian Church, and highly re- 
spected in the community. The conversion of the entire 
family and of some neighbors, numbering in all sixteen, 
soon followed. Some of their descendants have since been 
earnest workers in the Lord's Vineyard. One of them, 
Sister Maria Dodge, died a Sister of Charity at Mount 
St. Vincent's Academy, New York. 

Allow me to quote another little incident of conversion, 
brought about by what we might call the most casual 
means, did we not know that God's mighty hand is con- 
stantly directing all things, even the most insignificant, 
to their proper end. The wife of a prominent lawyer 
received, not many years ago, a box of spring goods, ex- 
pressed to her from a neighboring city. Several Catholic 
newspapers had been made use of for wrapping. They 
presented somewhat of a novelty to the lady's eye, and 
she laid them aside for perusal. It so happened that one 
of the papers contained some lines relative to Catholicism, 
which awoke in her intelligent mind a desire for further 
inquiry. Suffice to say, that she sought and found in our 
holy faith what her soul longed for, and in a few months 
her husband and family were one with her in religious 
belief. 

If the pastor's mission lies in a country district, in 
which the faithful are few and scattered, and Catholic 
churches are far between, as is the case in most of our 
Southern States, he may be called on to preach in private 
bouses ; in Protestant churches, in court-houses, or in 



340 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

theatres, like St. Paul who preached in the jailer's apart- 
ments and other residences, in Jewish synagogues, in the 
tribunal of Csesarea before King Agrippa, and in the 
Athenian Areopagus. He will have to exercise in such 
circumstances, that gift of consummate discretion so con- 
spicuous in the Apostle of the Gentiles, by adapting his 
discourse to the exceptional situation in which he is placed, 
and to an audience more or less unfriendly and distrustful. 
He will enlighten without offending his hearers. He will 
answer inquiries, he will meet objections and dispel pre- 
judices, without adopting a polemical or controversial 
style of argument, which usually provokes irritation and 
resistance, while a clear exposition of Catholic principles 
presented with conscious authority and sincere love, com- 
mands the respectful attention of the hearers, 

"I have always maintained," says St. Francis de Sales, 
" that he who preaches with love, preaches sufficiently 
against heresy, without introducing one word of con- 
troversy. Certainly, during thirty-three years in which 
God has called me to the sacred work of feeding my 
people with His word, I have observed that earnest 
sermons on matters of practical holiness are as so many 
live coals cast among Protestants ; they listen, are edified, 
and become more accessible to doctrinal teaching." l 

In the Life of this great apostle we learn how fruitful 
was his ministry of preaching: 

"In 1594, when he was sent into the Duchy of Chab- 
lais, he found only seven Catholics at Thonon, its capital. 
He labored there for five or six years, a ided by his cousin, 
Louis de Sales, and in the end brought over to Catholicity 
between forty and fifty thousand souls. His exertions 

1 Spirit of St. Francis de Sales. 



INSTRUCTION AND RECEPTION OF CONVERTS. 341 

seemed to meet with little success for the first four years. 
He lived in the midst of continual hostility, and some- 
times his life was in danger from the fanatical Calvinists 
in those abodes of heresy ; but his angelic sweetness and 
wisdom carried him through all. A pestilence which 
raged in Thonon, enabled the servant of God to win the 
hearts of the people by his saintly charity, assisting the 
sick and dying at all hours, by day and night, and de- 
terred by no fear of infection. The simplicity and gen- 
tleness with which he set forth the Catholic truth gave 
him such power that, provided only a Protestant allowed 
him a quiet and peaceable hearing, he would make his 
objections disappear almost before they were stated. . . . 
His method was always to have some particular object in 
his sermons, such as the explanation of a point of faith, 
or the inculcation of a virtue. He preferred rather to set 
forth the faith as if he were instructing Catholics only, 
without controversially disputing against objections. By 
this means, the heretics, who were very numerous, were 
gently led to perceive that texts on which they relied to 
defend their errors, if rightly understood, only proved the 
truths taught by the Catholic Church." 

The missionary in the country districts will be usually 
greeted by an attentive and respectful, if not a sympathetic 
audience, as I can avow from personal experience. The 
people there, irrespective of faith, are eager for the Word 
of God. They will complain of the brevity, rather than 
of the length, of the sermons ; the more prolonged the 
discourse, the greater their satisfaction. 

The reason is easily found. The visits of the priest to 
those localities are necessarily at long intervals. The 
appetite of the people is whetted by a lengthened absti- 



342 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

nence from the food of the Gospel, and they have ample 
time to ruminate and digest the spiritual nourishment 
served to them, before having an opportunity of partaking 
of another banquet. Moreover, country folks are perhaps 
given to more serious reflection than the inhabitants of a 
city, since they have fewer newspapers, fewer places of 
amusement to distract and entertain them, and fewer 
startling incidents to disturb the even tenor of their life. 

The Rev. Walter Elliott, a zealous and experienced 
Paulist missionary, bears testimony to the eagerness with 
which our separated brethren in country districts listen 
to Catholic sermons : " I have preached," he says, " over 
twenty missions to non-Catholics in public halls of small 
towns, between September, 1893, and the following June. 
I always had a fair audience of Protestants and, in nearly 
every place, a full house. They came from first to last, 
because they were fond of hearing about religion. The 
little hand-bill advertising the lectures, seen in the village 
post-office, or found in the wagon as the farmer started 
home, was enough to draw many of them. Others gladly 
came at the invitation of a Catholic neighbor. The lec- 
tures and the answers to questions found in my query box 
were listened to with absorbed attention, and my leaflets 
and pamphlets willingly accepted. My experience is that 
of many priests in all parts of the country. ' Last week/ 
wrote a priest to me, ' we spoke to a large audience of 
non-Catholics in a town where there are but two Catholic 
families/ " 

If the ambassador of God is disposed to think that he 
lowers the dignity of his ministry by preaching in public 
or private edifices not consecrated to divine worship, he 
should remember that it is not the place that ennobles the 



INSTRUCTION AND RECEPTION OF CONVERTS. 343 

man, but it is the man that ennobles the place. Christ, 
our Master, preached not only in the Temple, but also 
under the canopy of heaven, on the Mount, along the sea- 
shore, and from the prow of a ship. The Apostles evan- 
gelized wherever they could obtain a hearing. St. Peter 
announced the Gospel to his jailers in the Mamertine 
prison, in Rome, and converted them, as we are informed 
by authentic records. St. Paul preached to a number of 
persons along the river-side just beyond Philippi. 1 He 
tells us that he taught the people publicly " from house 
to house." 2 Philip, the deacon, converted the eunuch 
while travelling with him in his chariot. 3 

The missionary priest will derive much comfort, also, 
from contrasting the apostolic liberty and civic protection 
he enjoys, with the restraints and legal disabilities imposed 
on the great Bishop Challoner, of England, who died in 
1781. Dr. Milner, who preached his funeral sermon, 
tells us that " the retreats in which the bishop was some- 
times obliged to preach were so obscure and wretched, 
that the catacombs were elegant and commodious compared 
with them." He says he was often present when the 
bishop, disguised in secular dress, preached in a cock-pit 
hired for the purpose, and that occasionally he would 
address his audience "at some obscure inn where each 
one present had his pipe, and sat with a pot of beer before 
him, to obviate all suspicion of the real character of the 
guests and the purpose of the assembly." 4 The beer 
served on those occasions, was called " the bishop's beer," 
though the bishop himself never partook of it. 

There are times even when the pastor will judiciously 
avail himself of the secular Press to address that larger 

^cts xvi. 4J Ibid. xx. 20. s Ibid. vni. 'Life of Dr. Milner, 



344 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

audience which cannot be reached by other means. The 
Press is the great vehicle of public thought in our day. 
It is a colossal engine of truth and of error. It is like 
the field mentioned in the Gospel, in which good seed and 
cockle are sown. It is a net that gathers in good fish and 
bad. We cannot ignore the Press. We are daily con- 
fronted by it. It penetrates every walk of life, and its 
influence and circulation are daily increasing. Even on 
religious questions, it is regarded by many as an oracle, 
and it goes far toward moulding the opinion and forming 
the judgment of millions that have but vague ideas of 
Christianity. 

Through this medium, the minister of God can profit- 
ably expound the salient points of Catholic doctrine, or 
correct an erroneous statement that has been industriously 
making its rounds, and strike down the foul bird of relig- 
ious calumny in its flight. 

When I resided in North Carolina, I had the consola- 
tion of receiving into the Church Dr. Monk, a prominent 
physician of Newton Grove, Samson County, with his wife 
and children. As a result of this conversion, upwards of 
three hundred other persons have since embraced the faith 
in the same neighborhood. They now form a devout and 
edifying congregation. The prominence in social and pro- 
fessional position of Dr. Monk contributed to increase the 
number of converts. The physician lived in an agricul- 
tural district, twenty miles from the nearest railroad. There 
was not a single resident Catholic in his county. He had 
never read Catholic books, nor entered a Catholic Church, 
nor held communication with any Catholic clergyman, till 
he opened a correspondence with me in Wilmington. I 
was, therefore, naturally curious to ascertain what impel- 



INSTRUCTION AND RECEPTION OF CONVERTS. 345 

ling motive had directed his thoughts toward the Church. 
In answer to my inquiry, he said : " The first glimpse of 
light I ever had on the subject came to me from a New 
York daily paper which contained an admirable sermon 
on some leading points of Catholic doctrine. Up to that 
time, I never considered the Catholic Church worthy of 
serious consideration." 

The inquirer after truth, unacquainted as he is, with 
the time that the pastor may have at his disposal, will 
call upon him at all hours of the day. Sometimes from 
necessity or a desire to avoid observation, he will present 
himself by night, as Nicodemus did, who came to Jesus for 
fear of the Jews. It is a great act of charity on the part 
of the pastor to accommodate himself, as far as possible, to 
the convenience of his visitor. Otherwise, the golden op- 
portunity may be indefinitely postponed, or irretrievably 
lost, for "the acceptable time and the day of salvation" 
may never come to him again. The pastor should receive 
his guest with fatherly benevolence, and make him feel at 
ease ; for when catechumens make their first visit to their 
spiritual guide, they are usually shy and reserved, em- 
barrassed by the novelty of the situation. 

But, perhaps, the clergyman may say : How can I find 
time to instruct converts, engrossed as I am with the 
incessant labors of the ministry? I answer that a zealous 
priest of systematic habits will generally find sufficient 
time for the discharge of every obligation appertaining to 
his sacred office. And, certainly, if there is any one duty 
that is not to be deferred or omitted, but that ought to 
have precedence, it is the work of enlightening the searcher 
after truth. Like the good Shepherd, who leaves the ninety- 
nine sheep in the desert to seek that which was lost, the 



346 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

good pastor will leave for a time in the hands of Provi- 
dence, the other subjects of his solicitude, till he has 
diverted the steps of the benighted wayfarer into the path 
of peace and light. 

If you tell me that the labor of instructing those who 
are of the household of the faith is formidable enough 
without the additional burden of teaching catechumens, I 
would reply in the words of our Lord : "These things 
ought you to have done, and not to leave those undone." 1 

Our Divine Saviour was the busiest of men, and yet 
we do not read that He ever repelled those that sought 
His counsel, or excused Himself for want of time from 
imparting to them words of light and consolation. He 
not only taught multitudes in the Temple and in the 
synagogues, in the desert and along the sea-coast, but He 
gave personal lessons of exhortation to the Samaritan 
woman at the well of Jacob, to Nicodemus by night, to 
Magdalen in the house of Simon, to the youth who had 
asked Him what he should do to possess eternal life, to 
the man who was born blind, and to many other individ- 
uals who daily approached Him. 

The unexpected obstacles that the Right Rev. Edgar 
P. Wadhams encountered when he applied for admission 
to the Catholic Church, are graphically told by his friend, 
Father Walworth. These rebuffs might have discouraged 
a man of less determination and force of character than 
the future Bishop of Ogdensburg. In 1846, when Mr. 
Wadhams had resolved to abandon the Episcopalian 
ministry and enter the Catholic Church, he called at the 
nearest chapel he could find in his own native Adiron- 
dacks ; but " after a brief conference with the priest, he 

1 Matt xxiiT. 23. 



INSTRUCTION AND RECEPTION OF CONVERTS. 347 

was allowed to depart without any encouragement. As 
he turned away, the clergyman said to one of his parish- 
ioners : ' Look at that young man. I wonder what he is 
up to.' 

" His second attempt was at Albany. He rang the bell 
at the rectory of one of the Catholic churches. After 
having made known his state of mind and wishes to an 
ecclesiastic of the house, he received, it is said, this answer : 
' We are very busy here and can't attend to you.' 

" His third, and more successful application was made 
to the Sulpicians at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore. Here 
he was cordially received, duly prepared and admitted to 
that great Mother's bosom, so heroically sought for, so 
lovingly clung to." l 

It is gratifying to observe in conclusion, that we have 
not been treading on barren ground, but on a field that is 
daily producing fruit, and that gives hope of more abun- 
dant harvests in the future. I may be permitted to give 
some statistics of conversions in the diocese of Baltimore. 
During the last five years, according to official returns, 
3,500 converts, or an average of 700 each year, were re- 
ceived into the Church in this diocese. I have no means 
of obtaining any detailed information on the subject in 
regard to the other dioceses of the country. In several 
of them, no doubt, results at least equally encouraging 
have been attained. Assuming that the Catholic popu- 
lation of the United States is ten millions, should the 
proportion of converts to the Catholic population be as 
large in other dioceses as it is in Baltimore, the annual 
number of conversions throughout the land would exceed 
30,000. 

1 Reminiscences of Edgar P. Wadhams, by Rev. Clarence A. Walworth. 



348 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

It is difficult to overestimate the moral influence ex- 
erted by the accession of neophytes to the faith. They 
are a living argument of the attractive force and of the 
overwhelming claims of the Catholic religion on the con- 
science of mankind. For while we can hardly conceive 
any religious inquirer embracing the Church from human 
or temporal considerations, we know that many on enter- 
ing the fold, are confronted by family and social ostracism, 
by pecuniary sacrifice, and sometimes even by the surren- 
der of all hopes of political preferment. 

Converts in their turn often become converters and mis- 
sionaries on a limited scale. As men who acquire rich 
estates by their personal industry and exertions, set more 
value on their possessions than they who are born to 
wealth, so do converts usually appreciate the gift of faith 
more thoroughly than they who have inherited it from 
their fathers : and with a zeal that is born of charity, 
they ardently desire to make others share in their spiritual 
treasures. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Congregational Singing. 

AMONG the many agencies that may serve to awaken 
and foster a spirit of fervor and healthy religious 
enthusiasm throughout the members of a parish, the prac- 
tice of congregational singing holds a conspicuous place. 
And, surely, there is no devotion that has a higher or 
holier sanction, or that appeals more forcibly to our reason 
and emotional nature than the chanting in unison of the 
praises of God by the people. 

Choirs of angels and saints in heaven are unceasingly 
glorifying God by song. The Prophet Isaias thus de- 
scribes the glorious heavenly vision with which he was 
favored before being consecrated for the prophetical office : 
" I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and elevated : 
and His train filled the temple. Upon it stood the Sera- 
phim. . . . And they cried one to another, and said : 
Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is 
full of His glory." 1 

"And I beheld," says St. John, " and I heard the voice 
of many angels round about the throne, . . . and the 
number of them was thousands of thousands, saying with 
a loud voice: The Lamb who was slain is worthy to 
receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, 
and honor, and glory, and benediction." 2 

isaias vi. 1-3. 2 Apoc. v. 11, 12. 

349 



350 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

At the birth of Christ, a multitude of the heavenly 
host was present, " praising God, and saying : Glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men 
of good will." 1 

" I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, 
of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, stand- 
ing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, . . . and 
they cried with a loud voice, saying : Salvation to our 
God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb." 2 
"And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, 
and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great 
thunders, saying : Alleluia : for the Lord our God, the 
Almighty hath reigned." 3 

That it was customary for the children of Israel in the 
Old Covenant to sing the praises of God in concert, is 
evident from many passages of the Psalms and other 
portions of the Scriptures : " Come, let us praise the Lord 
with joy," cries out the Royal Prophet, " let us joyfully 
sing to God our Saviour. Let us come before His pres- 
ence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise to Him 
with psalms. For, the Lord is a great God, and a great 
King above all gods." 4 

" Praise ye the name of the Lord, O you His servants. 
. . . Praise ye the Lord, for the Lord is good. Sing ye 
to His name, for it is sweet." 5 

"Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: let His praise 
be in the church of the saints. Let the children of Sion 
be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name in 
choir : let them sing to Him with the timbrel and the 
psaltery." 6 

1 Luke ii. 13, 14. 3 Ibid. xix. 6. 5 Ibid, cxxxiv. 1, 3. 

2 Apoc. vii. 9, 10. 4 Ps. xciv. 1-3. 6 lbid. cxlix. 1-3. 



CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. 351 

" Sing to Him, yea, sing praises to Him : relate all His 
wondrous works." 1 

• " Sing joyfully to God. Sing praises to the Lord on 
the harp, and with the voice of a psalm. Make a joyful 
noise before the Lord our King." 2 

Choral hymn-singing is approved even by the practice 
of our Lc?d Himself. Immediately after the institution 
of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, our Saviour and His 
disciples chanted together a sacred canticle : "And having 
sung a hymn, they went out unto Mount Olivet." 3 

St. Paul strongly recommends to his disciples the exer- 
cise of antiphonal devotional singing : " Be not drunk with 
wine, wherein is luxury ; but be ye filled with the Holy 
Spirit speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and 
spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your 
hearts to the Lord." 4 

When Paul and Silas were imprisoned at Philippi, at 
midnight they " praying, praised God. And they that 
were in prison, heard them. And suddenly there was a 
great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison 
were shaken." 5 Though "their feet were made fast in 
the stocks," their hearts exulted in apostolic freedom, and 
the very walls of the prison literally trembled at the sound 
of their voice. 

That the faithful had the habit of singing hymns 
antiphonally in the primitive days of the Church, is 
manifest from the letter of Pliny to the Emperor Trajan : 
"They are accustomed," he says, "to assemble before 
daylight on a certain day, and to sing alternately a hymn 
to Christ as God." 

1 Ps. civ. 2. 3 Matt. xxvr. 30. 5 Acts. xvi. 25, 26. 

2 Ibid. xcvn. 4-6. 4 Eph. v. 18, 19. 



352 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Origen says : " We glorify in hymns God and His 
only-begotten Son, as do also the sun, the moon, the stars, 
and all the host of heaven. All these in one divine chorus, 
with the just among men, glorify in hymns God, who is 
over all, and His only-begotten Son." 

So familiar were the people with the popular melodies 
of the Church that, according to St. Jerome, " they who 
went into the fields might hear the ploughman at his 
alleluias, the mower at his hymns, and the vine-dresser 
singing David's Psalms." 

" Psalmody," says St. Ambrose, " is the blessing of the 
people, a thanksgiving of the multitude, the delight of an 
assembly of people, and a language for all. It is the voice 
of the Church, the sweetly-loud profession of faith, the 
full-voiced worship of strong men, the delight of the free- 
hearted, the shout of the joyous, the exultation of the 
merry. It is the soother of anger, the chaser away of 
sorrow, the comforter of grief. The Apostle commanded 
women to be silent in church, yet it becomes them to join 
in the common singing. Boys and young men may sing 
Psalms without harm, and young women without detri- 
ment to maidenly reserve. Psalms are the food of child- 
hood, and even infancy itself, that will learn nothing 
besides, delights in them. Psalmody befits the rank of 
kings and of magistrates, and chorused by the people, 
each one vying with his neighbor in causing that to be 
heard which is good for all." 

St. Augustine observes in one of his letters : "As for 
congregational psalmody, what better employment can 
there be for a congregation of people met together, what 
more beneficial to themselves, or more holy and well- 
pleasing to God, I am wholly unable to conceive." 



CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. 353 

The same Father tells us how tenderly he was moved 
on listening to the sacred melodies sung by the faithful 
in Milan : " How I wept in hearing Thy hymns and 
canticles, touched to the quick by the voices of Thy well- 
beloved Church ! The voices flowed into mine ears and 
Thy truth distilled into my heart, whence the affections 
of my devotion overflowed, and tears ran down, and happy 
was I therein." l Again he says : " When I remember the 
tears I shed at the psalmody of Thy Church in the begin- 
ning of my recovered faith, and how at this time I am 
moved not with the singing, but with the things sung, 
when they are sung with a clear voice and modulation 
most suitable, I acknowledge the great use of this institu- 
tion." 2 

Several Fathers and Doctors of the Church, including 
even Sovereign Pontiffs themselves, consecrated their tal- 
ents to the composition of sacred poems. Ephrem Am- 
brose, Gregory Nazianzen, Methodius, John Damascene, 
Hilary of Poictiers, Gregory the Great, Gelasius, and at ? 
later period, Bernard and Thomas Aquinas wrote canticles 
and anthems for the use of the clergy and people of their 
times. 

In every age of the Church, the sects have made use 
of popular hymnody as a powerful vehicle for disseminat- 
ing their doctrines aud gaining proselytes.' 

At the beginning of the third century, the leader of the 
Gnostics composed religious verses of attractive melody, 
which contributed much to the popularity and diffusion 
of that heresy among the masses. 

Arius was the author of engaging hymns embodying 
his errors against the Divinity of Christ. His followers 

1 Confession?, B. ix. 2 Ibid. B. x. 

23 



354 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

were in the habit of congregating in places of public resort 
in Constantinople, ou Sundays and festivals, and of singing 
these verses, which were so offensive to orthodox ears. St. 
John Chrysostom was so apprehensive lest the faithful 
should be seduced by the errors of Arianism, presented 
under the specious form of captivating melody, that he 
organized processional hymn-singing in the streets of the 
city, to counteract the efforts of the innovators. 

Apollinaris, Bishop of Laodicea in the fourth century, 
wrote elegant verses for popular use, tinctured with his 
Sabellian errors against the Divinity of Christ. The peo- 
ple eagerly drank from this delicious stream of melody, 
many of them unconscious of the subtle poison it distilled 
through their veins. 

Luther translated into the vernacular many of the old 
Catholic hymns, and wrote some original religious poems, 
which wielded an immense influence on the German mind, 
— an influence still felt in that country. Coleridge has 
said : " Luther did as much for the Reformation by his 
hymns as by his translation of the Bible." These verses 
were sung not only in the churches, but in the streets and 
fields, in the workshop, in the palaces of the rich, and in 
the cottages of the poor. 

Marot's metrical translation of the Psalms, set to popu- 
lar and devotional airs, became a formidable weapon in 
the hands of the Calvinistic leaders in France. 

There is no doubt that the strong hold which Methodism 
took in the eighteenth century, and still retains on the 
lower and middle classes of England and America, is 
largely due to its soul-stirring hymnody, which appeals 
so forcibly to the religious emotions. It is said, that 
Charles Wesley accomplished as much in the cause of 



CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. 355 

Methodism by his hymns as John Wesley effected by 
his preaching. It behooves us to profit by the example 
of our adversaries. 

If congregational doxology is sanctioned, as we have 
seen, by inspired writers of the Old and the New Testa- 
ment; if it has the approval of Incarnate Wisdom Him- 
self; if it has been so strongly commended by the voice 
of Christian antiquity, it must be ascribed to the tact, 
that the united song of praise strikes a responsive chord 
in the human heart, and satisfies a spiritual craving in our 
common nature. It is, in a word, an evidence that religious 
sentiment finds its fullest manifestation in sacred melody, 
and that the most overpowering expression of sacred 
melody is heard in the harmonious voice of the multitude. 

Let us now, dear reader, briefly enumerate some of the 
principal spiritual blessings which a congregation may 
derive from the one act of celebrating the praise of God 
with song. 

1°. — They are engaged in public prayer; for every 
hymn, or Psalm, or canticle that is sung, is a prayer of 
praise, of thanksgiving, or of supplication to God. 

2°. — They are making an eloquent profession of faith; 
for how can a Christian proclaim his religion more openly 
than by standing up in the midst of the congregation, and 
announcing in a loud voice some truth of divine Revela- 
tion ? Several years ago, on a Sunday morning, I entered 
the cathedral of Cologne, during a low Mass, and took a 
seat in the body of the church. The vast edifice was filled 
with a devout congregation, representing every station in 
life. I observed the officer and the private soldier, the 
well-dressed gentleman and the plainly clad laborer, ladies 
and domestics, young and old, priests and laymen, mingled 



356 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

together and singing in the vernacular, the popular sacred 
hymns of father-land. They seemed so absorbed in their 
devotional chant, as to be utterly oblivious of every thing 
around them. I said to myself: What a noble profession 
of faith is this ! 

I never attend a religious service in a German church 
without being charmed and filled with delight, on listen- 
ing to the hymns so sweetly intoned by the whole congre- 
gation. Our German brethren have happily perpetuated 
this devout tradition of their forefathers. 

3°. — By joining in sacred song, the people are preaching 
God's word, and often, though unconsciously, they touch 
the heart of some wayward soul that casually enters the 
church. 

At the harmonious sound of religious melody coming 
from the fervent lips of sturdy manhood and innocent 
youth, the voice of the infidel is hushed, the scoffer hides 
his head in shame, and the rebellious heart is overpowered, 
yielding to the impulse of divine grace, even as the w T alls 
of Jericho fell before the shouts of the people and the 
trumpets of the ministers of God. Then, indeed, " the 
voice of the Lord is in power ; the voice of the Lord in 
magnificence. The voice of the Lord brcaketh the cedars : 
yea, the Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus." 1 

The joyous anthem of praise, or the tender notes of 
supplication, sometimes exert more influence in reclaiming 
a sinner than does the formal discourse from the lips of 
the priest. Monseigneur Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans, 
was in the habit of delivering in his cathedral during 
Lent, a course of sermons, which attracted a large con- 
course of people. During the service, the congregation 

1 Ps. xxviii. 4, 5. 



CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. 357 

sang alternately with the choir the Psalm Miserere. The 
bishop relates that a gentleman, who for years had neg- 
lected his religious duties, was assisting at these services. 
At the close of the series of sermons, he called on the 
bishop and remarked to him : " Monseigneur, I have been 
filled with admiration at the eloquence of your discourses. 
You convinced my reason, but you did not move me to 
repentance. But when I heard the notes of the sacred 
Psalm resounding in your cathedral, my heart melted. I 
could no longer resist the divine impulse. I am con- 
verted." 

4°. — By their example they are edifying their neighbor; 
for if a regular attendance at church edifies your brother 
by your mute presence, how much more do you encourage 
and sustain him by lifting up your voice and swelling the 
chorus of divine praise ! 

5°. — The law of charity and concord is diffused, 
" Psalmody/' says St. Basil, " is tranquillity of mind, 
the arbiter of peace, the curb of tumultuous thoughts, 
the assuager of anger, the bond of friendship, the recon- 
ciler of enemies ; for what man can retain in his heart, 
enmity toward a brother or sister whose voice com- 
mingles with his own in giving praise to God ? " l 

6°. — The religious element in their being is quickened 
and aroused. They are better disposed to profit by a dis- 
course after having taken an active part in a moving 
canticle, than if they had silently listened to an anthem 
from the choir. The words sung in unison, warm the 
heart and soften the ground for the seed of the Gospel. 

" Give me the making of the ballads of a nation," said 
a very wise man, " and I care not who makes its laws." 

1 Proemium in Psalmos. 



358 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

A national anthem has a magnetic effect in arousing a 
spirit of enthusiasm. When an English regiment hears 
God save the Queen, or a French corps, the Marseillaise ; 
when a German squadron catches the strains of Die Wacht 
am Rhein, or an American troop, those of The Star- 
Spangled Banner, the patriotic spirit of the soldiers is 
suddenly and vehemently aroused. A devout hymn exer- 
cises a kindred sway on the religious mind. We may well 
imagine how the heart of Israel's children swelled with 
rapture and gratitude to the God of battles when, after 
their miraculous passage through the Red Sea, they rent 
the air with the majestic Canticle of Moses : " Let us sing 
to the Lord, for He is gloriously magnified. The horse 
and the rider He hath thrown into the sea." l 

Nor can any one complain of this appeal to our religious 
feelings. Our emotional, as well as our intellectual, nature 
is a gift of God. and all the powers of our soul should be 
consecrated to Him. 

7°. — Devout singing is the guardian of spiritual glad- 
ness and an antidote against melancholy: "Is any of you 
cheerful in mind?" says St. James, "let him sing." 2 
"Whensoever the evil spirit from the Lord was upon 
Saul, David took his harp and played with his hand, and 
Saul was refreshed and was better, for the evil spirit 
departed from him." ? Saul was afflicted with the spirit 
of sadness, dejection, and despondency, which gave rise 
to envy, suspicion, and anxiety of mind. David by his 
harp appeased the tumultuous passions of Saul, dispelled 
his gloom, and refreshed his soul with gladness. If an 
unconscious instrument was so soothing to Saul, how 

1 Exod. xv. 1. 2 James v. 13. 3 I. Kings xvi. 23. 



CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. 359 

exhilarating to his spirits would have been a chorus of 
living voices chanting Israel's sacred canticles ! 

To sum up the advantages of congregational singing : 
It is a prayer ; it is a profession of faith ; it is a sermon ; 
it edifies the neighbor; it conduces to fraternal charity; 
it is an incentive to fervent piety ; and it contributes to 
joy of spirit. 

The success of congregational singing depends, of 
course, on the personal exertions of the pastor. Without 
his leadership and steady cooperation, all the efforts of 
the people would be wasted. A zeal that is timid, faint- 
hearted, and spasmodic will not suffice. The rector should 
throw all the weight of his energies into the work. 

The school is obviously the most appropriate place 
to inaugurate this exercise. Let some hours in the 
week be devoted to the study and singing of hymnody. 
The hymns and canticles can be afterward chanted at 
the low Mass for children, in the Sunday-school and 
Sodalities, in the devotions of the Month of May, in 
processions and benedictions of the Blessed Sacrament, 
and in other regular and occasional services through- 
out the year. 

How soul-stirring the effect if, in the procession of the 
Blessed Sacrament, the voice of all the people resounded 
throughout the vault of the church, chanting the "Lauda 
Sion Salvatorem" like the children of Israel, who rent 
the heavens with joyful accents of praise when they carried 
the Ark from Silo ; or like the great multitude that accom- 
panied our Saviour in His triumphant entry into Jerusa- 
lem, and greeted Him with the cry : " Hosanna to the 
Son of David : blessed is He that cometh in the name of 
the Lord !" 



360 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

The children could learn, also, the responses to the 
Collects, to the Preface, and to the Pater Noster at High 
Mass. They could study even the entire parts of a Re- 
quiem Mass, and assist in the chant of Vespers. 

The words of the Third Plenary Council on this sub- 
ject may be quoted here: "It is very desirable, in our 
judgment, that the rudiments of Gregorian chant should 
be taught and exercised in our parochial schools, and thus 
the number of those who can sing the Psalms increasing 
more and more, the greater part of the people, in accord- 
ance with the custom of the primitive Church, — a custom 
still prevailing in various places, — may understand how 
to sing Vespers and other offices with the ministers and 
choir." 

Even if the pastor should have to depend on the rising 
generation for congregational singing, his efforts will be 
stimulated and cheered by the consideration that the 
children of to-day will be men and women in a few years. 

But I see no reason why the grown members should 
not, from the beginning, take some active part in the 
congregational service. The exercise of joining in a 
devotional hymn, requires less effort than is commonly 
imagined. The ascent from speech to harmonious accents 
is not very arduous or remote. 

A step will be taken in the right direction, if the pastor 
insist on loudness of voice and distinctness of enunciation in 
congregational praying. When the worshippers are taught 
to respond aloud and fervently at the recitation of the 
Rosary, the Litanies, and other prayers, the transition to 
fulness and fervor in singing will be easy and spontaneous. 

The rudest people are capable of acquiring a knowledge 
of music, at least in its elementary form. 



CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. 361 

It is related in the life of Bishop Cheverus, of Boston, 
that he once paid a visit to the Penobscot Indians in 
Maine. On a Sunday morning, after a journey on foot 
of several days, when approaching the forest in which the 
Indians were assembled, he was filled with delightful 
surprise on hearing them singing in harmonious concert 
the royal Mass of Dumont. They had not seen a priest 
for fifty years, and their faith was kept alive by chanting 
in unison every Sunday the words of the sacred liturgy, 
which they and their fathers had been taught by the early 
missionaries of that country. 

Surely the children of the forest are not gifted by 
nature or education with richer and more musical voices 
than an average American congregation. I can say 
with confidence that a general and hearty participation 
in the sacred anthems will result in bringing about a 
closer and more loving relation between the sanctuary 
and the nave; it will increase the attendance at church; 
and it will augment the piety and spiritual exultation 
of the worshippers. 

Let no one infer from my warm advocacy of congrega- 
tional music that my interest in our regular choirs is 
anywise abated, for I am deeply sensible of the important, 
if not indispensable, part they fill in our public worship. 
Some of the sweetest and most delicious moments of my 
life, are those spent in listening to the sublime Masses of 
the great composers. 

Too much praise can hardly be bestowed on the zealous 
ladies and gentlemen who are consecrating their talents, 
and volunteering their services to Church music. Should 
they discontinue their labors, especially in our country 
churches, in which paid choirs cannot well be sustained, 



362 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

the sound of the organ, and the voice of melody would 
be hushed in many a house of prayer. 

It is true, indeed, that some of our choirs, like all 
human institutions, are susceptible of improvement. But 
this circumstance should not diminish our gratitude to 
those that, year in and year out, have kept alive the sacred 
flame of heavenly song. 

Let not our zeal for the establishment and development 
of congregational singing make us indifferent to the regu- 
lar choir. There should be no conflict, but rather har- 
mony between the two, for there is ample room for both. 

To conclude : Let me indulge the hope that all of us 
may be inspired to labor assiduously for the growth and 
perfection of congregational song and worship by these 
majestic words of St. Thomas Aquinas : 

" Sit laus plena, sit sonora, 
Sit jucunda, sit decora mentis 
Jubilatio." 

Sit laus plena — Let the full melody of praise burst forth 
from a united congregation. Sit sonora — Let the sonorous 
voice of manhood be joined to the treble of childhood. 
Let a jubilee of soul reign in our public services, joyous 
and decorous, that God may be glorified by the harmoni- 
ous praises of His children. 



T 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Sick Calls and Funerals. 

HE visitation of the sick and distressed is the tonch- 
-*- stone of apostolic zeal and charity. A tender sym- 
pathy and solicitude for the afflicted were inseparably 
associated in the life of Christ with the preaching of the 
Gospel. Both duties were interwoven like threads of gold 
and silver in His public ministry. When asked by the 
disciples of John the Baptist, whether He was the true 
Messiah, He gave them this reply : " Go and relate to 
John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the 
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead 
rise again, the poor have the Gospel preached to them." 1 
Never do w r e walk more closely in the footprints of the 
Prince of Pastors, never do we more nearly resemble Him, 
never are w ? e more in touch with Him than when we bear 
the message of condolence to the house of mourning. 
" The Spirit of the Lord," says Christ, " is upon Me, 
wherefore He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to 
the poor, He hath sent Me to heal the contrite of heart." 2 
The highest reward at His disposal is promised to those 
who discharge this duty ; and, as an additional incentive 
to its faithful performance, we are told to regard Himself 
in the person of the victim of sickness : " Come, ye blessed 

'Matt, xi. 4, 5. 2 Luke iv. 18. 

363 



364 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world ; ... for I was sick, 
and you visited Me ; . . . for as long as you did it to one 
of these My least brethren, you did it to Me." 1 He tells 
us by the mouth of the Apostle that the alleviation of 
human sorrow together with personal rectitude of life, is 
the very essence of Christianity : " Religion pure and un- 
defiled with God and the Father is this : to visit orphans 
and widows in their tribulation and to keep oneself un- 
spotted from this world." 2 

The priest should, therefore, like his Master, be an 
angel of mercy, as well as of truth ; a son of consolation, as 
well as of thunder. A certain priest was once asked why 
he was so bold and vehement in denouncing sin in the 
pulpit, while he was so gentle in dealing with sinners in 
the confessional and in the home of sickness. " Don't vou 
know," he replied, " that when the Apostles received the 
power to preach the Gospel, the Holy Ghost came as a 
rushing wind, which filled and shook the whole house in 
which they were sitting, to denote the force and energy 
with which they should vindicate God's law ? But when 
they received the power to forgive sins and to comfort the 
dying Christian, the Holy Spirit gently breathed on them, 
to intimate the patient tenderness which they ought to 
manifest toward the child of sin and sorrow." In the 
house of God, the priest proclaims the doctrines of faith 
as a legislator ; in the house of mourning, he consoles as 
a father and friend. 

Contrast the conduct of our Saviour in the Temple and 
in the stricken home of Lazarus. In the Temple, He 
denounces the money-changers and, seizing a scourge, He 

1 Matt. xxv. 34-40. 2 James I. 27. 



SICK CALLS. 365 

drives them from the house of God. He sheds tears of 
sympathy for the bereavement of Mary and Martha. The 
liou in the Temple is transformed into a lamb at the tomb. 
The stern judge among the thieves becomes a comforting 
angel among the mourners, and the eye that flashed with 
indignation in the house of prayer, melts with compassion 
at the grave of a friend. 

There is, perhaps, no duty of a priest's ministry so 
fruitful in the conversion of souls as the visitation of the 
sick and afflicted. To many, indeed, the sick room has 
been an ante-chamber of heaven. The atmosphere of 
physical disease or mental suffering, is most favorable for 
the growth of faith and virtue. It is a time most season- 
able for conversion to a life of grace and truth from a 
state of sin and doctrinal error. " Blessed are they that 
mourn, for they shall be comforted " by heavenly light 
and peace. Human respect and the passions of the heart 
lose their hold when death sends a warning, or when 
tribulation knocks at the door. It is then that God 
ploughs the heart to prepare it for the seed of repentance. 
" A grievous sickness maketh the soul sober." l When 
the ruler, mentioned in the Gospel, saw his son stricken 
down with a serious illness, he, no doubt, looked on this 
visitation as an unmixed calamity. In reality, however, 
as the sequel showed, this sickness was a blessing in dis- 
guise, for it proved to be the providential occasion of the 
conversion of himself, as well as of his entire family. 
Had his son not been taken ill, the ruler would not have 
consulted our Lord, and very probably he would have 
died, as he had lived, an unbeliever. 2 

1 Ecclus. xxxi. 2. 2 John iv. 



366 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHKIST. 

Ignatius of Loyola, a gay and gallant soldier, wounded 
at the battle of Pampeluna, and lying a restless convales- 
cent, thought little of the kingdom of God. To while 
away a weary hour, he asked for a romance. None being 
at hand, a volume of the Lives of the Saints was given 
him instead. "Why cannot I become what these true 
heroes were? I, too, can become a saint and, with God's 
help, I w T ill." The result all know well. Sickness gave 
to the Church and to the world Saint Ignatius of Loyola 
and the great Society of Jesus. 

Archbishop Audu, the venerable Patriarch of the Chal- 
deans, when attending the Vatican Council, related to me 
the history of his conversion. In his gay youth, he was 
bent upon the pleasures of the world. One day, while on 
one of his excursions in quest of enjoyment, he happened 
to visit a Chaldean monastery, probably to procure some 
refreshments. As he was entering, the keystone of the 
arch fell and severely crushed him. During his conva- 
lescence in the cloister, he devoted his time to pious 
reading, and so profoundly impressed was he with the 
instructions and the edifying example of the fathers 
that he left the sacred retreat a fervent Christian. He 
studied for the ministry and, finally, was elevated to the 
rank of patriarch. 

The visit of the priest to the home of sorrow has 
nothing about it of an inquisitorial character. It is justly 
regarded not as a call of ceremony, but as one of genuine 
sympathy. He is received as an angel of consolation, 
and his words then spoken, are treasured up with special 
gratitude and affection. 

St. Francis de Sales says that the sick chamber is a 
school of compassion for him who ministers comfort to 



SICK CALLS. 367 

the patient, and of loving patience for the sufferer. The 
priest is like Mary and John standing before the Cross 
in tender sympathy ; the patient is, as it were, nailed to 
that Cross, sharing in the agony of our Lord's Passion. 

When the pastor addresses his congregation from the 
pulpit, he is obliged to administer the same spiritual food 
to the hundreds before him. He may very reasonably 
expect that to many of them it may be neither palatable 
nor nutritious, and that some may even reject it as the 
children of Israel loathed the manna in the desert. There 
is no help for it. He cannot accommodate his sermon to 
the diversified tastes and capacity of his whole audience. 

But the case is different when his ministry is exercised 
at the sick bed. His practical sense will at once suggest 
to him the line of instruction that is suited to the intel- 
lectual and moral condition of his patient, and his words 
of exhortation and solace will find a responsive echo in 
the breast of his afflicted parishioner. 

" Beside the bed where parting life was laid, 
And sorrow, guilt and pain by turns dismayed ; 
The reverend champion stood : at his control, 
Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul ; 
Comfort came down the trembling wretch to raise 
And his last faltering accents whispered praise." ' 

We are not, therefore, surprised at the number of con- 
versions resulting from ministrations to the sick. The 
chaplain attached to the hospital of the French penal 
settlement of New Caledonia, to which the most hardened 
criminals are transferred, averred to a friend of mine that 
nearly all such convicts admitted into the hospital, die the 
death of the penitent. 

1 Goldsmith's Deserted Village. 



368 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

Thirty-five persons were received into the Church in a 
hospital in this diocese during a single year. Not many 
parish churches can reap so great a harvest during the 
same period of time. Conversions are not usually made 
in groups or battalions, but individually ; and the reason 
is obvious. Every man is a world in himself. He has 
habits of thought, mental capacity, passions, prejudices, 
and temptations peculiar to himself, so that a chain of 
argument that would carry conviction to one hearer, might 
exert no influence whatever on another. 

But while the pastor brings the peace of God to the 
invalid, the light shed on him radiates over the household. 
The members of the family are filled with gratitude toward 
their consoler, as Tobias and his family toward the angel 
Raphael. They are loud in his praise. The attachment 
that is then formed often endures through life, and not 
unfrequently some member of the household dates his 
conversion from one of these visits, for we readily believe 
those whom we have learned to admire and love. 

The clergyman in charge of the Woodstock missions in 
this diocese, while journeying through the parish, was 
once called in to see an aged Protestant lady whose death 
was drawing near. Her friends had previously sent for 
their own minister, but he excused himself on account of 
the inclemency of the weather and of sickness in his own 
family. This message in their hour of sorrow, aggravated 
the wounds of their hearts. The worthy priest spoke to 
the dying woman such words of exhortation and comfort 
as the occasion suggested. The result of his casual visit 
was that the lady was baptized, and her reception into the 
Church was followed by the conversion of her aged hus- 
band and their son. I had the consolation of confirming 



SICK CALLS. 369 

at the same time, members of three generations belonging 
to this family. The son who was converted now resides 
in the old homestead, and is the father of eleven pious and 
devoted children. 

Nor is the salutary influence of the pastor's ministration 
confined to the circle which he comforts by his presence. 
It is diffused throughout the neighborhood, as happened 
to our Lord when He visited the house of Lazarus. It 
is a significant fact, that, while many conversions resulted 
from the deed of mercy He then wrought, there are none 
recorded as having followed immediately from the Sermon 
on the Mount. The Gospel tells us that, when Jesus had 
ended His sermon, "the people were in admiration at 
His doctrine." 1 But His mission to the home of the 
afflicted sisters was far more fruitful. " Many, therefore, 
of the Jews who were come to Mary and Martha, and had 
seen the things that Jesus did, believed in Him" 2 The 
seed was sown by the sermon ; the harvest was reaped by 
the miracle of compassion. 

It is so in regard to the shepherd of souls. The people 
may admire him for the eloquence of his sermons, but 
they will love him for the eloquence of his beneficent acts. 
In silently making his daily rounds, like the good St. 
Francis, he preaches more forcibly than in the pulpit. 
The most intolerant enemy of Christianity never questions 
the orthodoxy of pastoral benevolence. By his diligent 
and assiduous care of the sick and sorrowing, by his 
repression of the demon of intemperance, by his healing 
of domestic quarrels, by his unostentatious help to the 
poor, by the odor of Christ which he leaves behind him, 
the priest becomes a tower of strength and a moral force 

1 Matt. vii. 28. 2 John xi. 45. 

24 



370 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

in the whole neighborhood. He disarms prejudice, and 
while only a few may be at once converted to the taith, 
the observing portion of the community are won over to 
a higher esteem for his person, aud to a better appreciation 
of the Catholic religion of which he is so bright an exem- 
plar. " If all priests," they cry out, " were like that man, 
the Catholic Church would have few enemies." 

Happy is the minister who when his course is run, can 
truthfully say with Job : " The ear that heard me, blessed 
me, and the eye that saw me, gave witness to me : because 
I had delivered the poor man that cried out ; and the 
fatherless, that had no helper. The blessing of him that 
was ready to perish came upon me, and I comforted the 
heart of the widow. ... I was an eye to the blind, and a 
foot to the lame, I was the father of the poor, and the cause 
which I knew not, I searched out most diligently." l 

It is not uncommon for a bishop when he announces his 
intention of promoting a priest to a more important field 
of labor, to receive petitions signed by leading Protestants, 
as well as Catholics, expatiating on the pastor's beneficent 
influence in the community and requesting that he may 
be allowed to continue with them. The picture which 
Chaucer draws of the model priest of his day, might be 
applied to any one of those to whom I have referred : 

" Wide was his parish, and houses far asunder, 
But he ne left nought, for ne rain ne thunder; 
In sickness and in mischief to visite 
The ferrest in his parish moche and lite 
Upon his feet, and in his hand a staff." 

I wish I could close with this edifying portrayal, but 
the medal has its reverse, the bright picture has its shades 

1 Job xxix. 11-16. 



SICK CALLS. 371 

and backgrounds. " Not all who are of Israel, are Israel- 
ites ; neither are they who are the seed of Abraham, all 
children " of the promised inheritance. 1 There are some 
anointed ministers here and there, happily few in number, 
who do not adequately realize their grave responsibility in 
the service of the sick, and who do not exercise toward 
them the diligence and fatherly solicitude which theii 
sacred calling demands. 

On the specious pretext, that sick calls at night are 
often inspired by groundless fear, these clergymen are 
reluctant to respond to such a summons, unless it is 
accompanied by a medical certificate stating that the case 
is urgent. When the messenger arrives, he is gravely 
informed that the pastor is asleep, and does not wish to be 
disturbed. " Dormit Petrus" Peter sleeps while his Mas- 
ter, in the person of the afflicted patient, is in the toils 
of death and struggling with the tempter. If after much 
importunity the priest is aroused, he appears before the 
messenger in an irritable frame of mind and expresses his 
opinion, that the case is not of a pressing nature, and that 
it could be safely deferred till the next morning. It is 
true, indeed, that the ailment of the patient is frequently 
exaggerated : but may not the pastor's indolent disposition 
be, in some measure, responsible for the exaggeration? 
The family are tempted to magnify the illness of the 
invalid from the apprehension they feel that, if it is not 
reported as very serious and critical, he may be deprived 
of the ministrations of the priest. 

In this unamiable mood, he approaches the sick 
chamber, chilling both patient and attendants by his cold 
and formal bearing. He performs the sacred rites in a 

1 Bom. ix. 6, 7. 



372 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

forced and perfunctory way. His exhortation is without 
unction, his visit without comfort, his manner without 
composure, and he abruptly leaves, probably never to 
return, though the patient may survive for weeks or even 
mouths. Man's eternal destiny largely depends on the 
spiritual condition in which he is found at his last 
moments. That condition is, in no small degree, influ- 
enced by the ministrations of the priest; therefore, he 
shares in the condemnation of the dying sinner, if he 
makes no exertion to bring him to repentance. 

God thus spoke to the Prophet : u Son of man, if when 
I say to the wicked : Thou shalt surely die, thou declare 
it not to him, nor speak to him, that he may be converted 
from his wicked way and live, the same wicked man shall 
die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at thy 
hand/' 1 

The medical adviser is prompt at the call of duty at all 
hours of the night. Surely, the physician of the soul 
should not be outdone in this respect by the physician of 
the body. 

I am persuaded that one of the paramount duties of a 
priest is habitual kindness and patience toward every 
child of sin, sorrow, and suffering with whom he may be 
thrown. In repelling one that may seek our aid or coun- 
sel, in betraying impatience and irritability of temper, in 
using harsh or hasty language toward him, we may com- 
mit only a trivial fault. But we may be to him the 
occasion of a grievous delinquency. We may be the last 
plank to which the struggling sufferer tries to cling amid 
the waves of adversity, and when this final refuge is 
snatched from him, he sinks in the sea of despair. A 

1 P^zech. in. 17, 18. 



SICK CALLS. 873 

severe rebuke, spoken perhaps inadvertently and without 
malice, has driven many a sensitive man from the Sacra- 
ments, and even from the Church for years, aye, for a life- 
time. 

Thank God, examples of ill-temper and negligence are 
very rare on the part of our devoted clergy. The few 
unfeeling and slothful ones only serve to bring out in 
bolder relief the lustre and heroism of the many who are 
deterred neither by a love of ease, nor by storms, nor by 
the fear of pestilence, from promptly and cheerfully 
devoting their life to the cause of suffering humanity. 

After finishing the foregoing paragraph, I was visited 
by a worthy priest of the diocese. He informed me that, 
some time before last Christmas, he was requested to call 
on a Protestant young man who was suffering from an 
aggravated form of diphtheria. The family declined to 
send for their minister, being persuaded that, burdened 
as he was with a family, he would hesitate to expose 
himself to the danger of contracting the disease. The 
young man was then received into the Church, and since 
Christmas his mother, brother, and sister have, also, em- 
braced the faith. 

Lastly, while comforting others in their tribulations, 
the pastor is enlightening and instructing himself in the 
science of Christian philosophy. The home of affliction 
and mourning is the best school for the apostolic man. 
Every penitent is an object-lesson silently portraying some 
particular truth. In one the priest beholds the awful 
penalty of sin ; in another he views the sublime example 
of Christian patience worthy of the Patriarch Job; in all 
he sees mirrored before him the vanity and brevity of 
human life. It is by making a spiritual diagnosis at the 



374 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

bedside of suffering that the physician of souls will most 
profitably learn how to instruct his congregation from the 
chair of truth on the solemn duties of life, and to instil 
into their hearts a genuine compassion for their afflicted 
brethren. His words will then have a vital force not 
easily acquired by the reading of books ; for he is more 
impressed by what he sees than by what he hears. 

u Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurern, 
Quam quae sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus, et quae 
Ipse sibi tradit spectator." ' 

"From the fulness of the heart, the mouth speaketh." 
He readily makes others sensible of what he feels himself: 

" Si vis me flere, dolendum est 
Primum ipsi tibi." 

Without a practical knowledge of the people's physical, 
mental, and moral ailments, a clergyman may be a fluent 
orator, but he will hardly be an effective preacher ; for 
there is no true eloquence without zeal, no zeal without 
loving sympathy, no sympathy without the knowledge of 
distress, and this knowledge is best acquired by a personal 
visitation of his flock and a familiar acquaintance with 
their miseries. 

Another opportunity for making a salutary impression 
on our separated brethren, as well as on members of the 
congregation, will often present itself on the occasion of 
funerals, especially in communities in which Catholics and 
Protestants have intimate social, family, and commercial 
relations with one another. In the presence of the angel 
of death, the human heart is profoundly moved by the 

1 Horace. 



FUNERALS. 375 

solemn voice of Religion, the scoffer is awed to silence, 
and sectarian preji lice is softened and subdued. 

Some well-chosen remarks on the brevity and uncertainty 
of human life, on the never-ending duration of eternity, on 
the vanity of all things earthly, on the immortality of the 
soul, and on man's moral accountability to his Maker, 
will then appeal to the conscience more forcibly than at 
other times. 

It is, also, a suitable occasion for alluding to the inter- 
mediate state in the life to come, and to the Catholic 
practice of praying for the dead. This consoling doctrine 
is at once suggestive of the soul's survival beyond the 
tomb, and of the hallowed communion by prayers sub- 
sisting between the living and deceased. It mitigates the 
sorrows of separation, and contains an implied rebuke to 
the dreary and despairing creed of annihilation after 
death. Though not in harmony with the religious opin- 
ions of a portion of the audience, a discourse on this 
theme, delivered amid the solemn funereal surroundings, 
cannot fail to commend itself to their reason, their sympa- 
thies, their yearnings, and to their religious sense. In a 
supreme moment like this, the "human soul naturally 
Christian " will assert itself. It will rise superior to the 
prejudices of education and to the traditions and conven- 
tionalities of popular creeds. 

There are not a few devoted converts who can trace 
the first dawning of spiritual light on their heart to the 
revelation of this truth to them. An estimable lady of 
Richmond, belonging to an old Virginia family, related 
to me the history of her conversion. She lost an only 
daughter to whom she had been fondly attached, and her 
grief was intensified by the consideration that, according 



376 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

to her creed, death formed an insuperable barrier between 
them. When she casually learned the invariable belief of 
the ancient church on this subject, the announcement was 
to her a heavenly manifestation, it was a refreshing fountain 
to a thirsting soul. She soon after embraced the Catholic 
religion. Her son, who had served in the Confederate 
army, also entered the Church. He studied for the 
ministry, and became a zealous Paulist Father. 

Without incurring the suspicion of betraying a polem- 
ical or controversial spirit, the pastor may also with 
propriety inform his mixed congregation that the practice 
of praying for the departed is not confined to the Catholic 
Church. It prevails, likewise in the Russian Church, in 
all the Oriental Schismatic Churches, as well as in a branch 
of the Episcopalian body, and is sanctioned by the Jewish, 
and even by the Mohammedan religion. The faith of the 
disciples of Mohammed is beautifully set forth by a 
British Poet in The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan, where 
the dying Zelica asks Azim to pray for her soul when she 
is dead : 

"Oh, live to pray for me — to bend the knee 
Morning and night before that Deity, 
To whom pure lips and hearts without a stain, 
As thine are, Azim, never breathed in vain, — 
And pray that He may pardon me — may take 
Compassion on my soul for thy dear sake, 
And nought remembering but my love to thee, 
Make me all thine, all His, eternally ! 

Time fleeted — years on years had passed away, 
And few of those who on that mournful day, 
Were living still- when by a rustic grave, 
Beside the swift Amoo's transparent wave, 
An aged man, who had grown aged there, 



FUNERALS. 377 

For the last time knelt down — and though the shade 

Of death hung darkening over him, there play'd 

A gleam of rapture on his eye and cheek, 

That brighten'd even death — like the last streak 

Of intense glory on th' horizon's brim, 

When night o'er all the rest hangs chill and dim. 

His soul had seen a vision while he slept ; 

She, for whose spirit he had pray'd and wept 

So many years, had come to him all dress' d 

In angel smiles, and told him she was blest ! " ] 

In some parts of the United States, the custom is 
observed of reading the prayers of absolution in English, 
after they have been recited in the language of the Liturgy ; 
and there is no doubt of the good impression it produces 
on the congregation. I was informed by a venerable 
■ prelate from New Zealand, and by another from Cape 
Colony, that the same practice obtains in their dioceses 
with most edifying results. These prayers, authorized by 
the Church and consecrated by centuries of usage, abound 
in Scriptural allusions appropriate to the solemn occasion, 
and, when distinctly and* reverently repeated in the ver- 
nacular, they command the attention of the hearers. They 
unfold to them the richness and hidden beauty of our 
Liturgy of which some of them, perhaps, never before 
had a glimpse ; and they serve to convince them that our 
Ritual, when understood, appeals to the reason, as well as 
to the emotional nature, of man. 

A priest of this diocese was recently called to perform 
the funeral service at the house of a deceased convert. 
All the attendants at the obsequies were Protestants, and 
they manifested a shy and reserved demeanor toward the 

1 ?ee "Die Jenzeitige Welt"—~P. Leo Keel. Fegfeuer, p. 178. (Pur- 
gatory.) 



378 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRrST. 

officiating clergyman. While he was reciting the prayers 
of the Ritual in Latin, they frowned on him, some of them 
even exhibiting marks of levity ; but when he began to 
read the same in English, they listened with close and 
respectful attention. And, finally, when he preached to 
them, they wept through compunction of heart : 

"Truth from his lips prevail'd with double sway, 
And fools, who came to scoff", remain'd to pray." l 



1 Goldsmith's Dem led Village 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Consolations and Rewards of the Priest. 

THE life of a faithful missionary clergyman is one of 
trials, vicissitudes, and habitual self-denial. He 
makes an heroic renunciation of the pleasures of the flesh 
and of the endearments of family ties. He is subject to 
a life-long rule of discipline. Every day, almost every 
hour, has certain duties marked out for him. He is 
regarded as a public servant to whom the stranger as well 
as the members of his flock, the unbeliever as well as those 
of the household of the faith, may, regardless of his 
personal inconvenience, have access at all times, to present 
their grievances, to solicit his aid, or to invoke his counsel. 

His labors resemble in kind, if not in degree, those of 
the Apostle of the Gentiles. He is engrossed by the 
financial management of the church under his charge; he 
is preoccupied by the supervision of his congregation. 
Every temporal or spiritual calamity that afflicts the 
members of his parish is a source of concern and distress 
to him. He can say with the Apostle : " Who is weak, 
and I am not weak? who is scandalized, and I do not 
burn?" 1 

And, then, how much he has often to suffer from the 
calumnies of men who know him not, who are poisoned 
by prejudice, and who are always disposed to view with 

1 II. Cor. xi. 29. 

379 



380 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

a sinister or suspicious eye his most harmless words and 
actions ! With the same Apostle he can affirm : ki We 
are reviled, and we bless ; we are persecuted, and we suffer 
it; we are slandered, and we entreat ; we are made as the 
refuse of this world, the offscouring of all even until 
now." 1 

Nevertheless, every apostolic man who has his heart in 
his work can truly declare with St. Paul: "I am filled 
with comfort; I exceedingly abound with joy in all our 
tribulation." 2 What is the secret of his consolation? 
What are those hidden springs that refresh his soul amid 
the incessant labors and sorrows of his ministerial life? 
What are those temporal recompenses and heavenly re- 
wards which impart to him that serenity of mind, that 
joy of spirit usually reflected on his countenance? 

In the first place, the devoted servant of Christ enjoys 
the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Unencumbered 
with superfluous means, and secure in the possession of a 
sufficiency, he has little concern about his future wants, 
which are few and easily supplied. He is free from the 
splendid misery of the rich man who is attached to his 
goods ; who, instead of possessing his wealth, may be said 
to be possessed by it ; who is full of anxiety about preserv- 
ing and increasing his fortune, and saddened by the 
reflection, that he must one day part with it. 

He is delivered from the tyranny of his passions, and 
is exempt from the gnawing anxiety and perplexities 
which harass those that are burdened with the care of a 
growing family. He has no chains to bind him to the 
earth ; but, like a traveller untrammelled by baggage, he 

l L Tor iv. 12. 13. 2 IT. Cor. vn. 4. 



CONSOLATIONS AND REWARDS OF THE PRIEST. 381 

is equipped for his long journey whenever it may please 
his Master to summon him to a better world. 

Another source of joy and consolation to apostolic 
workmen, is the sense of Christ's abiding presence with 
them, and of the special providence with which He 
watches over them. It is a significant fact, that, in the 
very first discourse which our Saviour delivered to the 
Apostles after He had made choice of them, as well as in 
the very last words He addressed them before His Ascen- 
sion. He particularly exhorts them to be without solicitude 
and to trust in Him, in view of His continual care of 
them. 

Before sending them on their mission, He tells them 
that the more they endure, the more they will be like 
Him ; that they should have no dread of the contradic- 
tions and hostility of men ; that they are not to fear them 
who kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul ; that 
a hair of their head will not be disturbed without God's 
permission ; that, if they are loyal to Him and to His 
Gospel, He will plead for them before His Father in 
heaven. The parting sentence He utters to them on 
earth, is this: u Behold I am with you all days, even to 
the consummation of the world." 

What repose and contentment, what confidence and 
security, do not these words inspire ! If a soldier in 
battle is cheered by the consciousness, that the eye of his 
commander is upon him, how much more is the soldier 
of Christ encouraged by the consideration, that his Divine 
Captain is invisibly at his side, upholding and sustaining 
hira in his daily labors and conflicts! Not only is the 
minister of the Lord supported, like all just men, by God's 
providential watchfulness over him, but he is also com- 



382 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

fortecl by the sacramental presence of Christ in the holy 
Oblation, which is a privilege personal to himself. How 
amply is he compensated for the surrender of family and 
kindred and for the loss of friends, by the daily companion- 
ship of his Master, whose intimate and loving friendship 
he enjoys in the Sacrifice of the Mass and in his visits to 
the Blessed Sacrament ! In the celebration of the Sacred 
Mysteries, he is favored with a spiritual refreshment and 
a hidden light from heaven which enable him to endure 
the toils and to meet the emergencies of the day. This 
celestial Bread, like the food which nourished the Prophet 
Elias in the desert, gives him strength to renew every 
morning the journey of life, till he reaches the true Mount 
Horeb. 

The edifying priest will have, also, an inexhaustible 
fund of interior delight in the testimony of a good con- 
science. The joy of a good conscience is a perennial feast. 
He who possesses an upright conscience, has the kingdom 
of God within him, the kingdom of peace and tranquillity. 
He is not disquieted by the storm of words that rages 
around him ; for the unfavorable judgments of men weigh 
lightly with him who acts from rectitude of motive, and 
who covets only the approval of Heaven. 

St. Paul says : " Now the end of the commandment is 
charity from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and an 
unfeigned faith." 1 In other words, the object or aim of 
our ministry is to nourish the virtues of faith, hope, and 
charity in the hearts of the people ; and a living faith, a 
genuine love for our brethren, and a pure conscience are 
the three elements that render our ministry acceptable ,to 
God. 

1 1. Tim. i. 5. 



CONSOLATIONS AND REWARDS OF THE PRIEST. 383 

How happy is the servant of Christ, when he can say 
with the Apostle : " Our glory is this, tha testimony of 
our conscience that in simplicity of heart and sincerity of 
God, and not in carnal wisdom, but in the grace of God, 
we have conversed in this world \ and more abundantly 
towards you." 1 

The mutual love subsisting between the spiritual Father 
and his children in Christ is the strongest and most hal- 
lowed sentiment that can sway the human breast. It is 
the fountain of the noblest and purest joy. This bond 
of heavenly fellowship was a subject of pious exultation 
to the Apostle. In writing to the Corinthians, he says : 
" We are your glory, even as you also are ours in the day 
of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 

There is no rational pleasure more elevating and en- 
during than that which springs from the consciousness of 
rendering good service to others. So keen was the satis- 
faction which St. Paul experienced in the sanctification 
of souls, that he exclaimed : " I most gladly will spend 
and be spent myself for your souls : although loving you 
more, I be loved less." 3 

St. John speaks of the gladness which filled his heart 
when he learned that his disciples were advancing in 
virtue : " I have no greater grace," he says, " than this, 
to hear that my children walk in truth." 4 Such, also, is 
the gratification which the zealous pastor feels when a 
sinner is reclaimed, when he observes that the confessional 
and altar-railing are more than usually frequented, and 
that the congregation assembled in church on the Lord's- 
Day is marked by an increase in number, and a more 
earnest devotion. 

l II. Cor. i. 12. 2 Ibid. 1. 14. 3 Ibid. xn. 15. 4 III. John i. 4. 



384 THE AxMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

He derives immeasurably more delight on beholding 
his flock grow in holiness under his pastoral care, than the 
millionaire enjoys from his accumulating wealth, or the 
husbandman from his abundant harvest ; because when 
the riches and the crops will have perished, the souls 
whom the shepherd had helped to redeem, will be a 
glorious aureola around his brow. He can address his 
children in the words of the Apostle : " My dearly beloved 
brethren, and most desired, my joy and my crown." l 

The satisfaction that the priest experiences from his 
deeds of benevolence to his charge, is much augmented by 
the lively sense of gratitude which they manifest toward 
him. An earthly ruler can demand of his subjects the 
tribute of their money ; but he cannot extort the golden 
coin of heartfelt affection which the flock freely and cheer- 
fully pay to their pastor. 

The children of the parish love him. They instinct- 
ively run after him as their spiritual Father, as the one 
who brought them forth in the Sacrament of Regenera- 
tion, who nourished them with the milk of heavenly 
knowledge. 

The adults who have preserved their religious and moral 
integrity, bless him as the visible angel-guardian who has 
guided their steps in the path of truth and righteousness. 

The penitents show their gratitude for him as a loving 
pastor who rescued them from the thorny road of vice, 
and bore them back after their wayward wanderings to 
their Father's house. 

The poor look on him as their benefactor from whose 
steps they were never repelled, and whose hand was ever 
open to succor them. 

1 Phil. iv. 1. 



CONSOLATIONS AND REWARDS OF THE PRIEST. 385 

The sick trust in him as their spiritual physician, as- 
suaging their pains by his heavenly ministrations and 
words of sympathy. 

The sorrowing and disconsolate cherish him as their 
consoler, lightening the burden of their heart. 

The whole congregation revere and honor him as a 
guide and friend who breaks to them the Bread of Life, 
preaches to them the words of salvation, solves their 
doubts, and heals their dissensions. 

Nor is this devotedness of the people confined to mere 
sentiment. They are eager on every occasion, to testify 
their loyalty by self-sacrificing deeds. Many a true pastor 
can affirm of his flock what Paul said to the Galatians : 
" You despised not, nor rejected ; but received me as an 
angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. . . . For I bear 
you witness that, if it could be done, you would have 
plucked out your own eyes, and would have given them 
to me." l 

There are few passages in Holy Scripture so touching 
and pathetic as that which describes the parting of Paul 
from the clergy of Ephesus, when, before embarking, he 
knelt down and prayed with them on the shore, and when 
they wept and embraced him, " being grieved most of all 
for the word which he had said, that they should see his 
face no more." 2 Not less loved is the devoted pastor, 
nor less lamented, when called to another mission, or 
summoned to his eternal reward. 

This reciprocal affection between the Christian ambas- 
sador and his people, is one of the strongest incentives to 
life-long toil, privations, and self-renunciation. " Where 
there is love, there is no labor, or if there is labor, the 

■Gal.iv. 14, 15. 2 Acts xx. 38. 

25 



386 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

labor is loved." 1 Love is stimulated by obstacles. It 
surmounts every difficulty, smoothes every path, sweetens 
every toil. It was the intensity of this fatherly attach- 
ment that prompted the Apostle to say : " I wished myself 
to be an anathema from Christ for my brethren who are 
my kinsmen according to the flesh." It was this attach- 
ment that made him endure with joy, stripes and persecu- 
tion, shipwreck and imprisonment. 

But the vital principle of happiness to the minister of 
Christ, is the assurance of an eternal recompense. The 
kingdom of heaven is promised by our Lord chiefly to 
four classes of persons : 

1°. — To those that have endeavored to lead a blameless 
life, and that have sincerely repented of the faults and 
transgressions they may have committed : " Who shall 
ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand 
in His holy place? The innocent in hands, and clean of 
heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn 
deceitfully to his neighbor." 2 " Blessed are the clean of 
heart, for they shall see God." 3 

2°. — To those that have voluntarily renounced the 
world, and consecrated themselves to His service : " Be- 
hold," said Peter to Jesus, " we have left all things, and 
have followed Thee; what, therefore, shall we have? And 
Jesus said to them : Amen, I say to you, that you who 
have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of 
man shall sit on the seat of His majesty, you, also, shall 
sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 
And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, 

1 " Ubi amatu.y -non laboratur, aut si laboratur, labor amatur." — St. 
Augustine. 

2 Ps. xxiii. 3, 4. 3 Matt. v. 8. 



CONSOLATIONS AND REWARDS OF THE PRIEST. 387 

or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My 
name's sake; shall receive an hundred- fold, and shall 
possess life everlasting." 1 

3°. — To those that have exercised a spirit of practical 
charity toward the poor and afflicted : " Come, ye blessed 
of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, 
and you gave Me to eat ; I was thirsty, and you gave Me 
to drink ; I was a stranger, and you took Me in ; naked, 
and you covered Me; sick, and you visited Me. ... As 
long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you 
did it to Me." 2 

4°. — To the fearless herald of the Gospel, whose life is 
in harmony with his teaching : " Every one that shall 
confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My 
Father who is in heaven." 3 And the Apostle says : " If 
thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe 
in thy heart that God hath raised Him up from the dead, 
thou shalt be saved. For with the heart we believe unto 
justice ; but with the mouth confession is made unto sal- 
vation." 4 

Now, does not the blessed hope of the zealous mission- 
ary rest upon each and all of these four titles ? Has it 
not been his constant aim to live in righteousness and 
innocence, and to implore God's forgiveness every morning 
at the foot of the altar for his daily offences and negli- 
gences? Did he not renounce the goods and pleasures of 
this world when, at the altar, he solemnly took the Lord 
as a the portion of his inheritance?" Is not a good part 
of his daily life spent in relieving the wants, and in 

1 Matt. xix. 27-29. 3 Ibid. x. 32. 

2 Ibid. xxy. 34-40, 4 Kom. x. 9, 10. 



388 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

assuaging the sorrows of the poor and afflicted ? And is 
it not his special mission, and habitual practice to proclaim 
Christ, and to vindicate His honor? 

O Brothers in the ministry ! if a grateful country erects 
monuments to her statesmen and soldiers who defended 
her in the halls of legislation, or on the field of battle 
against foreign or domestic foes, surely, the Lord of hosts 
will amply reward you, the confessors of the faith, who 
have wielded the sword of the spirit, which is the word of 
God, in upholding the integrity of the Christian Republic, 
and in vindicating her sacred laws against the assaults of 
her enemies. For if God rules as a God, judges as a God, 
punishes as a God, He also rewards as a God. 

How few of those that fought for their country, have 
had their names inscribed on the roll of fame ! How 
many a brave captain, who displayed the genius of a 
Napoleon, the fortitude of a Washington, and the iron 
will of a Wellington, has fallen on the field of battle, 
" unwept, unhonored, and unsung," because there was no 
chronicler to record his martial deeds ! 

God is not thus unmindful of the soldiers of the Cross. 
The village pastor, whose preaching was unheralded by 
the press and unheard outside his humble church, whose 
good deeds were unseen by men, will have his golden 
words and wx>rks written on the imperishable pages of 
the Book of Life. For if Christ would not suffer the 
fragments of material bread to be wasted in the desert, 
He will certainly not permit the living bread of truth and 
charity to perish. It will not only nourish those to whom 
it was dispensed, but, like the Royal Prophet's prayer, it 
will return to the bosom of the dispenser, and fill him 
with spiritual strength and consolation. 



CONSOLATIONS AND REWARDS OP THE PRIEST. 389 

If God said to Abraham, the father of His chosen 
people : "lam thy Protector, and thy reward exceeding 
great/' 1 He will not be less bountiful in his benedictions 
to the spiritual father of the Christian family whom he 
has begotten in Christ, and nourished with the food of 
the Gospel. 

If the Apostle declares that a crown of glory is laid up 
for those who " have fought a good fight, and have kept 
the faith," how much more brilliant a crown is reserved 
for the faithful shepherd who has not only preserved the 
faith in his own breast, but has also planted it in the 
heart of others ! " He that shall do and teach," says our 
Lord, "he shall be called great in the kingdom of 
heaven." 2 

St. Paul declares that his dear Corinthians, who were 
then the objects of his pastoral solicitude, would be his 
crown and his glory in the life to come. More exultant 
and radiant with joy than any Roman conqueror entering 
in triumph the imperial city was Paul, when he ascended 
to the heavenly Jerusalem, enriched with the treasures of 
good works, and greeted by that host of redeemed spirits 
whom he had made captive to his Master. 

We are equally assured that those blessed souls whose 
conversion and sanctification the faithful disciple of Christ 
had promoted on earth, will lend additional lustre to his 
glory in heaven. 

When the zealous and devout pastor contemplates his 
spiritual children who will have persevered to the end, has 
he not reason to exclaim with the Apostle: " What is our 
hope, or joy, or crown of glory ? Are not you in the 
presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" 3 

1 Gen. xv. 1 . 2 Matt. v. 1 0. * I Thess. n. 19. 



390 THE AMBASSADOR OP CHRIST. 

Your happiness will be mine, because it will be shared by 
me. When you abound with merits, I shall superabound 
with joy. Your virtues will enhance my reward. Your 
glory will encircle its rays around my brow. For if 
" children's children are the crown of old men, and the 
glory of children are their fathers/' 1 my glory will be 
augmented by your salvation. Let this thought be an 
inspiration to us all in striving to multiply the number 
of the elect. 

We know that there are degrees of rank among the 
angelic choirs, and we have the testimony of the Apostle 
that there are, also, grades of celestial glory among the 
saints in heaven : "One is the glory of the sun, another 
the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars, 
for star differeth from star in glory." 2 And may we not, 
without presumption, assign the highest degree of beati- 
tude to those God-like men, such as Benedict, Francis of 
Assisi, the Apostles of nations, and the fervent mission- 
aries, whose hearts glowed with the seraphic fire that 
inflamed and illumined the Christian world, and who, 
like the angels on Jacob's ladder, ascended to receive 
light from above, and descended to communicate it to 
the children of man? 

Even in this life they possess the hundred-fold of " the 
peace of God which surpasseth all understanding," and in 
the life to come they shall inherit the beatitude promised 
by the prophet : "They that are learned shall shine as the 
brightness of the firmament, and they that instruct many 
unto justice, as stars for all eternity." 3 

Blessed are they who, with an upright heart, have 
announced the glad tidings of salvation. To them Christ 

^rov. xvii. 6. 2 I. Cor xv 41. 3 Daniel xn. 3. 



CONSOLATIONS AND REWAKDS OF THE PRIEST. 391 

repeats what He declared in His last discourse to His 
disciples : " In My Father's house there are many man- 
sions. If not, I would have told you, that I go to prepare 
a place for you. ... I will come again and will take 
you to Myself, that where I am, you also may be. . . . 
Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and 
weep, but the world shall rejoice ; and you shall be made 
sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. . . . 
I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your 
joy no man shall take from you." 1 

Another Evangelist holds out the same consoling 
promises of honor and happiness, made by our Redeemer 
in different w r ords : " You are they who have continued 
with Me in My temptations : And I dispose to you, 
as My Father hath disposed to Me, a kingdom : that 
you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom : 
and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel. ,;2 

As ye have partaken of My sorrows on earth, so shall 
ye share in my joys in heaven. As ye were my co-laborers 
here, so shall ye be co-heirs and co-judges with Me here- 
after. You will recline with Me at My everlasting love- 
feast, which will delight without surfeiting. " You shall 
be inebriated with the plenty of My house, and shall drink 
of the torrent of pleasure." 3 The Venerable Bede and 
other Fathers of the Church, commenting on these words 
of our Saviour, declare that the judicial power and glory 
pledged to the Apostles, were not to be restricted to them, 
but would be extended to all apostolic men that were to 
succeed them. 

1 John xiv. 2, 3 , xvi. 20, 22. 3 Ps. xxxv. 9. 

*Luke xxii. 23-30. 



392 THE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST. 

As we cannot fathom the depths of God's mercy and 
loving kindness, neither can we comprehend the immensity 
of the heavenly reward that is promised us, because it will 
be measured not by our merits, but by His infinite love. 
" Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered 
into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for 
them that love Him." 1 

The glimpses of celestial glory vouchsafed to Peter, 
James, and John, to Paul and Stephen should serve, as 
they are intended, to stimulate in us a yearning for the 
blessed kingdom that awaits us; just as the glowing 
description of the messengers sent by Moses to survey the 
Promised Laud, inflamed the Israelites with renewed zeal 
to take possession of their destined country. 

Let us, therefore, like the Apostle, glory in our tribu- 
lations, " knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; and 
patience, trial ; and trial, hope ; and hope confoundeth 
not." 2 Let us not be disheartened by labors, remembering 
that u the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be com- 
pared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in 
us." 3 



l L Cor. ii. 9. 2 Rom. v. 3-5. 3 Ibid. vm. 18. 



INDEX. 



AAEON, called by God to the 
priesthood, 32. 

Addison, 194, 247 ; 

Alaska Missionaries, 123. 

Alexander the Great, 59, 234. 

Alfred the Great, 221. 

Algar, Joseph, 297. 

Allies, 246. 

Allison's History of Europe, 198. 

Alma Mater's pride in her son«, 
49. 

Alphonsus, St., 30, 87, 158, 214. 

Alumni, advice to, 65. 

Ambition, a magnanimous senti- 
ment, 53. 

Ambrose, St., Archbishop of Mi- 
lan, 25, 141, 244, 353. # 

America, the rising generation the 
hope of, 315. 

American authors write in too 
much haste, 206. 
Christian mothers, 319. 
Civic institutions, 263. 
People reverence Christian rev- 
elation, 324. 
Youth, education of, 330. 

Americans a reading people, 175. 

Angelic choirs, degrees of rank 
among, 390. 

Angelo's (Michael) sublime con- 
ceptions, 201. 

Annihilation after death a despair- 
ing creed, 375. 

Anselm, St , 52. 

Anthem, national, magnetic effect 
of, 358. 

Anthusa, Mother of St. John Chry- 
sostom, 316. 



Antiphonal devotional singing in 
primitive days ot the l hurch, 
351. 
Antony, St., 185, 234. 
Apelles' answer to criticism, 

190. 
Apollinaris, Bishop of Laodicea, 
wrote elegant verses for popu- 
lar use 354. 
Apostasy — St. Paul and St. John 

lament and denounce, 29. 
Apostles aggressive, 334. 

Called to the service of God, 21. 
First and last words of our 

Saviour to, 381. 
Christ manifests His predilec- 
tion for, 3. 
How chosen, 21. 
Not deficient in theological 
knowledge. 166 
Apostles of nations will have high- 
est degree of beatitude, 390. 
Privations endured by, 120. 
Apostolic workmen have Christ's 
abiding presence, 381. 
Zeal, 335. 
Arians sang in public resorts in 

Constantinople, 354. 
Arius, author of engaging hymns, 

353. 
Athanasius, St, of Alexandria, 

victim of persecutions, 181. 
Audu, Arch bishop, Patriarch of 

Chaldeans, 366. 
Augustine, St., Bishop of Hippo, 
221. 
Ascribes conversion to a sen- 
tence of St. Paul, 1 85. 

393 



394 



INDEX, 



Complains of the severity of 

some teachers, 55. 
De Catechizandis Rudibus, 302. 
His confessions, 93. 
On congregational psalmody, 

352. 
On sacred melodies sung in 

Milan, 353. 
Authors, British and American, 

of present century, 247. 



BACON, 82, 285, 286. 
Baltimore Council, Third Plenary. 
Its decrees, 242. 
Holy See commends Council as 

model, 243. 
Peculiar merit of the decrees, 

242. 
Diocese, conversions in, 347. 
Bartholomew, Don, Archbishop 

of Braga, 303. 
Basil, St., 214, 230, 254. 
Before Modestus, 181. 
Bayard, Thomas F., 273. 
Bayley, Archbishop, 10. 
Becket, St. Thomas a, 87. 
Bede, Venerable, 231. 
Beethoven, 219. 
Bellarmine, Cardinal, Archbishop 

of Capua, 304. 
Benedict, St., 25. 

Benevolence, indispensable virtue, 
99. 
Toward companions in semi- 
nary, 99. 
Bernard, St., 69, 158, 214, 353. 
Bible— Book of books, 234. 
Fountain unfailing, 230. 
To be read with awe and devo- 
tion, 234. 
Indispensable to priests, 226. 
Liber Sacerdotalis, 227. 
Model of literary excellence, 

232. 
Only book our Saviour read or 

quoted, 230. 
Our companion, 178. 
Sermons in its facts, 228. 



Should be read for higher 
motive than style, 233. 

Biographers, modern, 254. 

Biography, best models the in- 
spired penmen, 253. 
Most entertaining and instruc- 
tive reading, 181. 

Blaine, James G\, capacity for 
public speaking, 298. 

Blanche, mother of Louis IX of 
France, 317. 

Boisy, Madame de, mother of St. 
Francis de Sales, 305. 

Books, delightful companions, 178. 
Weapons of the Christian war- 
rior, 226. 

Bossuet, the Eagle of Meaux, 192, 
231,305. 
Consecrates declining years to 
instruction of youth, 305. 

Boyd, Dr., 209. 

Brougham, Lord, 231. 

Brownson, 248. 

Brute, Right Rev. Simon Gabriel, 
122, 224. 

Bryan, William Jennings. His 
speech at the National Dem- 
ocratic Convention, 267. 

Bryant, 233. 

Bryce, 255. 

BufFon, Naturalist, 190. 

Burke, Edmund, 179, 197, 221, 260. 

Butler, Alban, 208. 

Byron's, Lord, composition of 
Childe Harold, 195. 



CANON Law, 242. 

Canticle of Moses : how it swelled 
the heart of Israel's children, 
358. 

Carlyle, Thomas, 11, 17, 71. 

Catechetical instruction, 304. 

Catechism, abridgment of Scrip- 
ture doctrines, 300. 
Council of Trent orders all 
children instructed in, 302. 
Teaching of, enjoined on Parish 
Priests, 302. 



INDEX. 



.395 



Catholic congregations proverbi- 
ally generous, 276. 
Faith, opportunities for present- 
ing truths of, 337. 
Missionary, pioneer of soldier 

and trader, 335. 
Preacher's message contributes 

to welfare of society, 270. 
His responsible position, 280. 
School, its value to the Church, 
325. 
Celestial glory, grades of, among 

the Saints, 390. 
Challoner, Bishop, 222, 343. 
Charity and Humility, guardians 
of Truth, 89. 
Hindrances to, 107. 
Charlemagne, 60. 
Charles Borromeo, St., 124, 219, 

302. 
Charms of human eloquence, 1 80. 
Chaste Life — our Lord the exem- 
plar of, 133. 
Chastity a fragrant flower, 138. 
A precious boon, 137. 
How to preserve the angelic 

virtue of, 137. 
Milton's tribute to, 142. 
Sacerdotal, 131. 
Chatham, Earl of, 231. 
Chaucer, 370. 

Cheerfulness, daughter of Inno- 
cence and Charity, 105. 
Cheverus, de, first bishop of Bos- 
ton, 318, 361. 
Children — A grateful task to pas- 
tor, the instruction of, 307. 
Instruction of, most imperative 

work, 300. 
Our Lord's special predilection 
for, 300. 
Choate, Rufus, 257. 
Choir, 361, 362. 
Choral hymn singing approved by 

our Lord, 351. 
Christ, Martyr of Truth and Char- 
ity, 84. 
Gives authority to preach His 
Gospel of Lova 274. 



His solicitude for the afflicted 
associated with preaching the 
Gospel, 363. 
Christian doctrine, 323. 
Three schools of, for youth, 
314. 
Christian education essential, 322. 
Loss of faith appalling from 
neglect of, 327. 
Christian mothers — the hope of 

the rising generation, 315. 
Christian oratory — models for, 
245. 
Politeness, 103. 

Wedlock — Catholic Church its 
vindicator, 337. 
Christianity — Influence on human 
thought, 170. 
Not transmitted like physical 

life, 322. 
Personal rectitude of life the 

essence of, 364. 
Preaching essential to preserva- 
tion of, 278. 
Propagandist feature demanded, 

333. 
Requires self sacrifice, 328. 
Christ's charge to His disciples to 

teach and preach, 334. 
Chrysostom, St. John, dying in 
exile, 181. 
Austerities of, 214. 
On forming minds of youth, 50. 
Organizes processional hymn- 
singing in the streets of Con- 
stantinople, 354. 
Church and State relations, our 

Saviour speaks of, 264. 
Church in fourth and fifth cen- 
turies, 170. 
Church, indomitable energy of 

the, 335. 
Church music — paid and volun- 
teer choirs, 361. 
Cicero speaks of himself, 217. 
Pursues his studies of oratory in 

Greece and Asia, 260. 
Unwearied industry won him 
his singular position, 191. 



396 



INDEX. 



Circulating libraries auxiliaries to 
diffusion of Christian know- 
> ledge, 338. 
Civil magistrates, apostles had 

respect for, 330 
Clark's (Adam) arduous labor, 

199. 
Classics, advantage of acquain- 
tance with English, 245. 
Greek and Latin, 244. 
Clay, Henry, 180, 192. 
Clergy — a deplorable spectacle, an 

ignorant and torpid, 171. 
Clergyman — acquires profitable 
instruction on daily rounds, 
256. 
Advice to the young, 285. 
Affability and good breeding 

indispensable, 103. 
Books the exhorter of the, 184. 
Faults to which the young is 

liable, 251. 
Fluent orator may not be the 

effective preacher, 374. 
Genial and scholarly sought 

after, 188. 
Imperative duty of, 1 59. 
Patriot and preacher, 263. 
Should glory in his sacred min- 
istry, 169. 
Should not die intestate, 129. 
Social as well as religious re- 
former, 263. 
Coleridge, 354. 

College laws — observance of, in- 
dispensable, 67. 
Colleges and academies should be 

warmly patronized, 329. 
Congregational Doxology sanc- 
tioned by inspired writers, 
355. 
Approved by the Incarnate 
Wisdom Himself, 355. 
Congregational singing, 349. 
A devotion that appeals to 

reason, 349. 
Sanctuary and nave brought 

closer by, 361. 
Scripture authority for, 350. 
Soul-stirring effect of, 359. 



Success of, depends on the pas- 
tor, 359. 
To be inaugurated in the school, 
359. 
Conscience, a sacred tribunal, 94. 

Sacred rights of, 324. 
Constantine the Great, 234. 
Constitution of United States, 332. 
Conversion — Beneficent acts more 
effective than sermons for, 
369. 
Of Archbishop Audu, related 

by himself, 060. 
Of a lady of Richmond, Va., 375. 
Of the family of Col. Dodge, re- 
lated by Archbishop Hughes, 
338. 
Of Dr. Monk and family, 344. 
Converts become converters, 348. 
Instruction and reception of, 
333. 
Cowper,*233. 

Creation, an illuminated manu- 
script, 313. 
Creator's works a charming vari- 
ety, 50. 
Cured'Ars, 174. 
Curran, John Philpot, 219. 
Cyril, St., 253. 



DAMASCENE, John, St., 353. 

Daniel excelled in knowledge, 244. 

Dante — Divina Commedia, 195. 
Prefers a book to the passing 
show, 203. 

Debating societies in colleges and 
seminaries, 259. 

Decalogue, antiquity of, 227. 
Impregnable historical monu- 
ment, 228. 

Declaration of Independence, 332. 

Demeanor of clergy toward one 
another, 160. 

Demosthenes, 179, 183, 190, 218. 

Dickens, 196, 261. 

Discipline — in colleges and semi- 
naries, 53. 
Naval Academy United States 
Regulations, 73 



INDEX. 



397 



Submission to, demands gener- 
ous self-sacrifice, 79. 
Third Plenary Council of Bal- 
timore rules, 53 
West Point discipline more 
severe than that of semi 
naries, 74. 
Discourse, construction of, 286. 

True aim of, 282. 
Disraeli, Benjamin, 208. 
Dissenting brethren, how to at- 
tract, 336. 
Divinity, Queen of Sciences, 169. 
Dryden, 247. 
Dumont, Royal Mass of, sung by 

Penobscot Indians, 361. 
Dupanloup, bishop, as a catechist, 
311. 
On human liberty, 51. 
Relates effect of the Psalm 
Miserere, 356. 
Duties and privileges of citizens, 
264. 



ECCLESIASTICAL State— At- 
traction for not always very 
sensibly felt, 35. 

Education, Catholic, how to make 
it free, 329. 
Elementary, and rights of con- 
science, 324. 

Eleazar, 83. 

Elliott, Rev. Walter, 342. 

Eloquence — not a lost art, 268. 
Persuasive and overwhelming 
force of, 267. 

Emery, Rev. Mr., Superior-Gen- 
eral of the Sulpicians, 92. 

England, Bishop of Charleston, 
223. 
In St. John's Church, Frederick, 
Md., 295. 

English Literature, 245. 

Envy a cause of dissension, 108. 
Pride the root of, 110. 

Ephrem, St., composes sacred 
poems, 353. 

Erudition not bought with gold, 
204. 



Euripides' reply to Alcestis, 190. 
Everett's (Edward) apostrophe to 

a drop of water, 293. 
Examination of conscience, 46. 
Excellence not attainable without 

labor, 189. 
Extemporaneous preaching, 285. 
Bishop England of Charleston 

quoted, 295. 
Improvising discourses due to 
earnest habits of study, 294. 
Phrases and discourses, Extem- 
poraneous, 293. 



FABEH, Rev. Frederick W , 216, 

m 246, 286. 
Faith — inferior to charity, 109. 
Light of, to those outside the 
fold, 335. 
Faithful shepherd, crown reserved 

for, 389. 
Falsehood, may be committed in 

many ways, 88. 
Fathers of the Church, 238. 
Bible their only book of sacred 

study, 241. 
Devoted to Christian instruction 

of youth, 302. 
Eloquent pulpit orators, 240. 
Mental grasp and patient in- 
dustry of, 241. 
Model preachers, 238. 
Writings of, an inexhaustible 

storehouse, 238. 
Writings of, interwoven with 
Sacred Text, 231. 
Fatherland, sacred hymns of, in 

Cologne Cathedral, 356. 
Fenelon's Telemachus, 192. 
Founders of Religious Orders, 

their triple armor, 158. 
Francis de Sales, St., 124, 283, 292, 

369. 
Francis of Assisi, St., 25, 158. 
Francis Xavier, St., 114, 234, 

303. 
Fraternal concord, importance of, 

101. 
Funerals, 374. 



398 



INDEX. 



GASTON, Judge, of North Caro- 
lina, 318. 

Gelasius, composer of sacred 
poems, 353. 

Gerson, Chancellor of Paris, 305. 

Gibbon, 172, 197, 217, 247. 

Gilmour, Bishop of Cleveland, 91. 

Gladstone, William E., 209, 257, 
281. 

Gnostics, 353. 

Godless education of the day, 328. 

Goldsmith, Oliver, 62, 209. 

Goodrich. 294. 

Gospel message, how it should be 
presented, 291. 
Never antiquated. 271 
Of the day, commanded to be 

read at Mass. 278. 
Preaching of the, 291. 
Precepts become sweet and easv, 

307. 
Propagated by oral teaching, 
268. 

Grant, Gen. U. S., 70, 72, 212. 

Gratitude — characteristic of in- 
genuous souls, 61. 

Gray's Elegy, 195. 

Gregorian chant, 360. 

Gregorv the Great, St., 213, 254, 
353. 

Gregory Nazianzen, St., 141, 244, 
317. r 

Gymnas. in academic institu- 
tions, 220. 



HALE'S (Matthew) intellectual 

diversion, 198. 
Harrison, Frederic, 65. 
Hay, Bishop, 222. 
Hayes, Rev. John, 196. 
Heaven — promised chiefly to four 

classes, 386. 
Recompense of the herald of 

the Gospel, 387. 
Henry, Patrick, 231. 
Heralds (self constituted) of God's 

law denounced, 23. 
Herodotus, 260. 



High Priest, St. Paul on the dig- 
nity of, 20. 
Hilary, St., of Poictiers, composes 

sacred poems, 3i3. 
History, study of, 243. 
Holy Scripture — An exhaustless 
quarry, 239. 
English and American states 

men make use of. 231. 
Ethical teachings of. 227. 
Garden of delight. 235. 
Striking passages of, learn by 
heart, 236. 
Home — Most hallowed of acade 
mies, 315. 
Primeval novitiate, 314. 
Religious atmosphere should 
pervade 319. 
Ho me -training, what it involves, 

319. 
Hood. Thomas, 186. 
Horace, 193, 235. 
Hughes, Archbishop, 288, 338. 
Human Heart — First living book 
student should read, 255. 
Massillon's portrayals of the, 

255. 
Mysterious kingdom of the, 249. 
Human respect, a base condescen- 
sion, 93. 
Its slave has many masters, 96. 
Humility — Christ the teacher of, 
144. 
Foundation of peace and tran- 
quillity, 150. 
Incumbent on priests, 154. 
In what it consists, 144. 
Its triple relation, 160. 
Means for acquiring, 161. 
Not a servile virtue, 155. 
Our Redeemer insinuates its 

lessons, 146. 
Our Saviour holds up a child as 

a model of, 148. 
Path to true glory, 151. 
Practice of. 159. 
Urged by the Apostle, 145. 
Hume's assiduous labors, 198. 
Hymnody, 353, 354. 



INDEX. 



399 



IGNATIUS of Loyola, St., 158, 
186, 303, 366. 

Incontinence a moral leprosy, 1 37. 
Clerical incontinence abhorred, 
136. 

Indian Missions of New Mexico, 
123. 

Innocence enchained, guilt en- 
throned, 229. 

Intemperance, an incentive to im- 
purity, 139. 

Ireland, divorces almost unknown 
in, 250. 

Isaias, Prophet, 167, 349. 



JAMES, St., 13, 265. 

Janssen, Dr., 217. 

Jealousy, 108. 

Jerome, St., 25, 139, 244, 352. 

John, St., 14, 110,383. 

Jesus Christ, and His priesthood, 

15. 
Johnson. Dr. Samuel, 56, 104, 

217,247. 



KEMPIS, Thomas a, St., 107, 

188, 262. 
Kenrick, Archbishop of Balti- 
more, 223, 327. 
Knowledge — a recognized leader, 
170. 

Cardinal Newman on acquiring 
it, 65. 

Importance of associating relig- 
ious with secular, 325. 

Key to, persevering labor, 189. 

No royal highway to, 204. 

Pre-requisites of — silence, soli- 
tude, study, 172. 

Sources of discouragement in 
pursuit of, 207. 

Of God's law acquired by ardu- 
ous labor, 1 65. 



LABOR accomplishes everything, 

189. 
Labor and Capital, 265. 



Lacordaire, Father, 289. 

Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, 66. 

Lang. Andrew. 216. 

Lemarchand des Noyers, Anne, 
mother of bishop JUe Chev- 
erus, 318. 

Leo the Great. St., 3, 244. 

i.eo XIII, Encyclicals of, on ques- 
tions of the day, 265. 
Encyclical of January, 1895, 

quoted, 265. 
Letter on Historical Studies, 

252. 
On writing history, 252. 

Lerins, St. Vincent, 112. 

Library companions fearless 
preachers, 183. 

Lincoln, President Abraham, 246. 

Lingard's (Dr.) earnest labor, 198. 

Literary celebrities of England 
and America, 247. 

Longfellow, 247. 

Louis IX, King of France, 317. 

Loyalty to country ennobled and 
sanctified, 330. 

Luther's hymns, influence on 
German mind, 354. 

Luzerne, Cardinal De La, 172. 

Lying and hypocrisy odious, 82. 



MACAULAY, 198, 209. 

Maistre, Count de, 286, 316. 

Manning, Cardinal, 130, 215, 246, 
248. 

Man of God, instruction of chil- 
dren delightful to, 300. 

Mankind, study of, most impor- 
tant, 249. 

Marot's translations of Psalms, 
354. 

Marriage, its foundations threat- 
ened, 337. 

Mass, sacrifice of, most august act, 
10. 

Masses and Classes, 257. 

Massillon, 228. 

McCaffrey, Eev. Dr., St. Mary's 
College, Emmitsburg, 311. 



400 



INDEX, 



McGill, Bishop of Richmond, 288. 
Meekness, sister of Humility, 151. 
Men and the Times. Study of, 249. 
Methodism, cause of strong hold 
in England and America, 354. 
Methodius, 353. 
Middleton, 191. 
Milner, Dr., 211,343. 
Milton, 142,219,232, 261. 
Minister of Christ — Friend and 
father of the people, 262. 
Habitual theme of, 265. 
Knowledge an essential quali- 
fication for, 166. 
Learning demanded of in every 

age, 175. 
Ought to be chaste in speech 

and conversation, 131. 
Vital principle of happiness to, 
386. 
Ministry — Candidates for the, 26. 
Capacity for the work of the, 38. 
Elements that render ours ac- 
ceptable to God. 382. 
Object or aim of our, 382. 
Signs of fitness for the, 36. 
St. Paul says of the, 382. 
Mission in a country district, 339. 
Missionaries in the Carolinas, 122. 
Missionaries renounce attractions 

of civilized life, 123. 
Missionary clergyman — Enjoys 
the glorious liberty of the 
sons of God, 380. 
His dual sphere, 187. 
His liberty and protection, 343. 
Labors resemble those of Apos- 
tle of the Gentiles, 379. 
Life of, is habitual self-denial, 

379. 
Often suffers from calumnies, 
379. 
Monica, St., mother of St. Augus- 
tine, 316. 
Monk, Dr., of North Carolina, 344. 
Montesquieu, 198. 
Moore, Thomas, 195 
More, Sir Thomas, 181. 
Mothers — Duty of, to offspring, 
317. 



NAPOLEON, 92, 258, 287. 

National festivals, 331. 

National songs, 332. 

Nationalism occasions breach of 
charity among students and 
priests, 113. 

Naval Academy, Annapolis, 73, 
75. 

Neophytes, influence of the acces- 
sion of, 348. 

Nepotien, 231. 

Newman, Cardinal, 49, 196, 215, 
249. 

Newspaper, 268. 

Newton, Sir Isaac, 199, 210. 

New York Council, Third Pro- 
vincial, 129. 



OBEDIENCE — conspicuous in 
the life of our Saviour, 77. 
Homage paid to God, 77. 
Indispensable to discipline, 67. 
Most rational duty, 76. 
Sublime virtue, 71. 
O'Connell, Daniel, 92, 257. 
Old Wolf a Cheyenne chief, 6. 
Oral teaching of the Gospel, divine 

ordinance, 268. 
Orders received without a voca- 
tion, 30. 
Origen, 230, 236, 352. 
Orthodoxy of pastoral benevolence 

never questioned, 369. 
Osouf> Archbishop of Tokio, 335. 



PARENTS gained through off- 
spring. 308. 
Parish, a little world in itself, 

277. 
Parish schools, 322. 
Parsimony not economy, 1 24. 
Pastor — A benediction to the 
child, 308. 
A consoler, 385. 
Affirms of his flock what Paul 

said to the Galatians, 385. 
A visible angel-guardian, 384. 
Benefactor of the poor, 384. 



INDEX. 



401 



Children, objects of his vigilant 

care, 309. 
Gratification of the, 383. 
Gratitude of penitents toward, 

384. 
Guide and friend, 385. 
Keverence of congregation for, 

273. 
Souls redeemed a glorious aure- 
ola for. 384. 
Spiritual physician, 385. 
Patience is Genius, 190. 
Patriotism of our Lord appealed 

to, 264. 
Paul, St., a model of humility, 156. 
Charge to Timothy, 42. 
Commends the queenly virtue 

of Charity, 100. 
Describes the contentious man, 

111. 
His crown and glory in the life 

to come, 389. 
How intent he was on the study 

of the Scriptures, 165. 
Insists on a Divine vocation, 22. 
Laments the apostasy of a fel- 
low-laborer, 29. 
On apostolic grace, 43. 
On the glory of the ministry, 3. 
On sanctification of souls, 383. 
On the Race question, 265. 
Peter, St., Primacy of, 239. 
Peter, St., 5, 114, 166, 386. 
Physical culture, 220. 
Piety not a substitute for learning, 

171. 
Pinkney's impromptu peroration, 

294. 
Pioneer bishops and missionary 

priests, 122. 
Plato, 58, 173, 260. 
Pliny, 198. 
Plutarch, 47, 56, 234. 
Poets of post-Reformation period, 

247. 
Politeness, canons of, 103. 
Politics has a moral as well as a 

civil aspect, 263. 
Poor and uneducated, Sir Walter 
Scott's tribute to, 260. 

26 



Pope, Alexander, 194, 247, 306. 
Poverty, spirit of, 119. 
Praise of God in song— arouses 
the religious element, 357. 
Diffuses law of charity and con- 
cord, 357. 
Edifying to neighbor, 357. 
Guardian of spiritual gladness, 

358. 
Profession of faith, 355. 
Public prayer, 355. 
Spiritual blessings derived from, 
355. 
Praises of God by the people, 

349. 
Prayer— secure guardian of Chris- 
tian faith, 319. 
Prayers of absolution in vernacu- 
lar edifying, 377. 
Practice in New Zealand, Cape 
Colony and parts of the 
United States, 377. 
Praying for the dead — a consoling 
doctrine, 375. 
Not confined to the Catholic 
Church, 376. 
Preaching in public and private 

edifices, 342. 
Preaching without due premedi- 
tation, 288.^ 
Preceptor's duties towards schol- 
ars, 47. 
Prescott, VVm. H., 219. 
Press, a colossal engine of truth 
and error, 344. 
To be availed of by pastor, 343. 
Priest — Aim of his ministry, 249. 
Ambassador of Christ, 15. 
Angel of Consolation, 366. 
Angel of God, 13. 
Brother of Jesus, 9. 
Chastity, indispensable orna- 
ment of, 131. 
Co-laborer with God, 15. 
Consecrated herald of the Gos- 
pel, 268. 
Consolations and rewards of, 

379. 
Consoler in house of mourning, 
364. 



402 



INDEX, 



Custodian and dispenser of 

heavenly treasures, 4. 
Debarred from worldly pursuits, 

26. 
Delight experienced from books, 

186. 
Demands practice of highest 

virtue, 19. 
Dispenser of the mysteries of 

God, 11. 
Duty of, 280. 
Embodiment of the reign of 

law, 270. 
Essential agent in conservation 

of Christianity, 276. 
Father of his flock, 9. 
Friend of Christ, 8. 
Habitual kindness and patience, 

a paramount duty, 372. 
Herald of the Gospel, 267. 
His vast influence involves tre- 
mendous responsibility, 279. 
Inherits office of Prophets and 

Apostles, 3. 
Interpreter of divine Law, 241. 
1 n the world, not of the world, 25. 
Light of the world, 5. 
Makes vow of virginal chastity, 

24. 
Man of God, 7. 
Mediator of Intercession, 14. 
Messenger of God, 13. 
Minister of Eeconciliation, 12. 
Ministry of, at sick bed, 367. 
Mission of, 310. 
More exalted than the prophets, 

3. 
Must be possessed of a judicial 

mind, 242. 
Must not confide in virtues ac- 
quired, 183. 
Noblest mission on earth, 11. 
Nothing degrading in obedience 

of, 76. 
Oracle of Christ, 272. 
Penitents object-lessons to, 373. 
Physician of the soul, 13. 
Practical rule of life for, 43. 
Privations to be endured with 

patience, 125. 



Salt of the earth, 5. 

Sanctuary of God, 133. 

Select books of, 226. 

Servant of faithful, 24. 

Servant of God, 8. 

Shepherd of souls, 369. 

Should be adorned with inno- 
cence, 38. 

Should be impressed with a 
sense of his exalted rank, 4. 

Should be pure in heart and 
mind, 132. 

Should strive each day to study, 
225. 

Son of consolation, 364. 

Spiritual king and leader, 17. 

Three astute advocates against 
the, 281. 

Tower of strength and moral 
force, 369.. 
Priesthood — Candidates can lose 
their vocation, 28. 

Excellence of Christian, 1. 

Ill-instructed, the scourge of the 
Church, 172. 

Preeminently a learned profes- 
sion, 169. 

Privilege, highest ever con- 
ferred on man, 12. 

Eeal indication of heavenly call 

, to, 33. 

Saints and doctors hesitated to 
enter its ranks, 25. 

Vocation to, a necessity, 20. 

Vocation to, a providential act, 
19. 

Who may with confidence as- 
sume the yoke of the, 42. 
Priests — Book of Nature com- 
mended to, 313. 

Are brethren of the same Lord 
and Saviour, 102 

Should be united in bonds of 
fellowship, 100. 

Should exercise a spirit of 
benevolence, 102. 
Prince of pastors, footprints of 

the, 363. 
Professors of learning, their re- 
sponsibility, 50. 



INDEX, 



403 



Prophets, teachers and expounders 
of the Law, 1. 
Austere life of Prophets, 120. 
Had prerogatives not bestowed 

on earthly rulers, 2. 
Their persons sacred, 2. 
Protestant American brethren, 

interest in, 336. 
Psalmody, 352. 

Public speaking, influence of, 267. 
Not supplanted by the news- 
paper, 267. 
Pulpit oratory, 268. 



KACE question, to be treated with 

tact and charity, 265. 
Randall, Samuel J., 79. 
Randolph, John, of Roanoke, 318. 
Reforms, social and economic, 

263. 
Religion, blessings of, 326. 
Crime against, 273. 
How the child is to be instructed 

in, 322. 
Mysteries of, how best communi- 
cated, 312. 
Religious discussions, 111. 
Education in schools, 319. 
Inquirer, sacrifices made by, 
348. 
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 201. 
Ritual appeals to the reason, 377. 
Ruskin, 202. 



SACRED Book, depository of 
every virtue, 228. 

Sacred Orders, official call to, 40. 
Sanctity required for, 37. 

Savonarola, the great Dominican, 
208. 

Scholars — Duties of toward Pre- 
ceptors, 58. 

School sinking funds, 329. 

Science and Revelation, harmony 
between, 176. 

Sciences, taste for cultivation of 
the, 39. 

Scott, Sir Walter, 216, 255, 260. 



Self-denial, principle of, 128. 

Self-knowledge, 158. 

Seminaries — Lhurch recommends 

preparatory, 38. 
Seminary regime, 69. 
Sensuality, the most seductive 

vice, 137. 
Sermon — Deep consideration es- 
sential to merit of, 290. 
Process of preparation, 285. 
Should not be long, 283. 
Time to be devoted to prepara- 
tion of, 288. 
Value and efficacy of, 285. 
Shakespeare, indebted to the Scrip- 
tures, 233. 
Sheridan, General Phil., 56,212. 
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 209. 

An impromptu orator, 293. 
Sick calls — Enlighten and instruct 
the priest, 373. 
Fruitful in conversion of souls, 

365. 
Touchstone of apostolic zeal and 
charity, 363. 
Sick chamber, a school of compas- 
sion, 366. 
An ante-room of heaven, 365. 
Sidney, Sir Philip, 177. 
Smet, Father de, 114. 
Social, political and economic 

questions, 262. 
Socrates, 58, 184. 

Spalding, Archbishop of Balti- 
more, 216. 
Inquiry regarding students, 39. 
Spiritual reading most profitable, 

45. 
Stanley, Dean, 209. 
Student — Confidence in the honor 
of, 55. 
Self-respect adorns the, 90. 
Students, clerical, should hear 

practised speakers, 259. 
Studious life, advantages and 

pleasures of, 177. 
Study, habitual, equips for the 
Ministry, 173. 
Handmaid of virtue, 177. 
Sulpician Seminarians, Paris, 311. 



404 



INDEX. 



Sulpicians, St. Mary's Seminary; 

Baltimore, 347. 
Sunday School, 320. 

Its utility to teachers, 321. 



Taney, Chief Justice United States 
Supreme Court, 210, 300, 319. 
Teacher, 50, 62, 212. 
Tennyson, 195. 
Teresa, St., 171. 
Text-books, lessons they should 

include, 331. 
Theological students, advice to, 

35. 
Theology, Dogmatic, 239. 

Aid to memory, study of, 240. 
Knowledge of Scriptures pre- 
requisite for study of, 241. 
Supplies weapons of defence to 
Christian apologists, 240. 
Theology, Moral, 241. 
Aim of, 242. 

Importance of the study of, 241. 
Third Plenary Council, 360. 
Titian, 201. 
Tobias, 308. 

Traveling Scholarships, 259. 
Truth— All is ours, 246. 
All men pay homage to, 82. 
Golden coin with God's image, 

80. 
Saviours reverence for. 83. 
St. Alphonsus' delicate sense of, 

87. 
St. Thomas a Becket's devotion 
to, 87. 
Truth and honor above friendship, 

118. 
Turner, 202. 

Tyrol, divorces almost unknown 
in the, 250. 



UNIVERSITY course a special 

privilege, 176. 
Unbelief— Misbelief, 146. 



VAIN-GLORY, emptiness of, 
147. 

Vatican Council, 261. 

Vaughan, Cardinal, 297. 

Verot, Bishop, remarks after con- 
secration, 33. 

Vinci, Leonardo da, 202. 

Virgil, 217. 

His laborious life, 193. 

Virtues, fundamental — truth, self- 
respect, fraternal charity, 80. 

Vocation, divine — Marks or signs 
of, 32. 



WADHAMS, Right Rev. Edgar 

P., 346. 
Wallon, 231. 

Walmesley, Rt. Rev. Charles, 203. 
Walter, Rev. Jacob A., 122. 
Walworth, Father, 346. 
Washington, 254, 318. 
Webster, Daniel, 210, 295, 325. 
Wellington, Duke of, 72. 
Wesley, Charles, 354. 
Wesley, John, 224, 355. 
West Point Academy, 70, 86. 
Winthrop, 296. 
Wiseman, Cardinal, 248. 
Visits Roulers College, near 

Bruges 297. 
Wolff, Dr., 186. 
Woodstock mission, Baltimore 

diocese, 368. 
Wordsworth, 247. 
World intolerant of the hypocrite, 



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